Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us
by Child at Heart Forever
Summary: The school year is entering its final stretch, although both Hero High and Villain Prep aren't in very good shape. Mysterious forces are at work on all sides, secrets are constantly in play, alignments are changing, and with an event being held that both schools plan to attend...not everyone's going to leave unscathed.
1. Let's Talk Plans

**Gah, so nervously excited...! ****If you thought the _last_ one was intense, I'mma blow your socks off with this one. Just warning ya now...! **

**As usual, this is a high school-based fic with a ton of OCs in it (two of fanfiction's greatest banes! Augh!), but if you're here now there's a high chance you've read the previous two stories and know that I'm not jumping on the generic and cheap bandwagon. I've got a reason for doing what I do. :P If you have NOT read the previous two...you should at least read _Heroes Vs Villains_ to catch up and you'll be fine. Even for those that have, a quick refresher wouldn't be bad either. **

**But if you have no issues, then by all means read on and enjoy! ^^**

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 1: Let's Talk Plans

It was a predominantly gloomy school day, although it appeared that it had no reason to be so on the surface. The sun was out, clouds were nonexistent in the sky, and the fresh late spring breeze drifted through the plains without a care, yet the spirits within the little school at the bottom of the valley weren't very high.

This was particularly prominent through the teachers of that little school, who were currently gathered in the principal's planning room before the school day was set to start. Said principal was at the head of the table, absentmindedly rolling his pencil around the blank paper in front of him, one that was full of the ideas that the group had come up with in the past hour.

Needless to say, that number was none.

"…c'mon!" the principal exclaimed, sounding exasperated at this point. "No one has ANY ideas on how to improve the curriculum? No adjustments to the school?_ Anything_?"

"I gave my two cents," exclaimed the rotund man to his right, adjusting his glasses curiously. "More books, more science, more practical things…!"

"And I disagreed," murmured the man to the principal's left, his dark fist pounding the table in front of him. "We need to enforce a sense of authority onto these kids; a sense of power within them that none shall be quick to challenge…!"

The principal rolled his eyes as the next teacher spoke up, this one being as round and plump as the first.

"I just wanted more freedom to the students! At least then they'd be more motivated to work harder!"

"MORE freedom?!" howled the first teacher, rising from the chair so quickly that it tumbled to the floor. "They barely do a thing in my class as it is!"

"They neglect my assignments completely!" threw in a third teacher, dressed in a trench coat and a boulder hat. The principal threw up his hands and retreated out of the conversation as it spiraled out of his control.

"Maybe they ignore your instructions because you're both terrible teachers!" cried the second teacher, a dark smirk playing at his expression.

"At least we have students who do enjoy what we teach, Mr. Dragmire," the first teacher said dangerously. Ganondorf Dragmire rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shut up, Egghead. You and the Boulder over there are terrible teachers, unable to command authority like I can!"

The man with the hat whipped it off and hurled it at Ganondorf; Ganondorf easily stepped out of the way.

"I am Giovanni, inferior! How dare you talk down about my teaching methods!"

"Calm down!" barked Wolf O'Donnell, kicking back in his chair with his feet on the table. "Yeesh, so much for school improvement…"

"In a building full of such droll and incompetent men, I'm not surprised," Goddess of Darkness Medusa murmured, drumming her fingers along her gold staff.

"I didn't hear _you_ contributing anything," sneered King Dedede, a little miffed that his suggestion had been blown over once again. Medusa's hair hissed at the penguin sitting across from her; Dedede pulled out his hammer and merely threatened the bunch of snakes back into submissiveness.

All Principal Bowser had wanted was just a few simple ideas as to how they could improve their school, only to end up with bickering as always. It was a given, since they were all villains, villains running Villain Prep no less, but still…was it too much to ask for a day of peace?!

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" shouted Ridley, pinned to his chair by several chains.

Apparently so.

"Listen up, Lessers!" Bowser barked, standing up in a huff and bellowing his flames across the table. All the teachers instantly filled the room with silence, although they were glowering darkly in Bowser's direction. "The school year is more than half over, and even still our attempt at supplying the villains of tomorrow with a proper education is FAILING! Just like everything else we do!"

He stood up and flipped the table, all the other villains ducking as it slammed into the wall and toppled over on its side.

"GRAAAH!"

Flames billowed out of his mouth again, setting the table aflame. Now everyone else was _mildly _unconformable.

"Obviously this utter disappointment is not my fault, since I'm the principal, and therefore I'm blaming all of you and your lack of teaching ability!"

"I draw the line there!" shouted Ganondorf, rising from his chair and setting his hands on fire. "All you do all day is sit on your stubby tail and you have the nerve to accuse US for your school's lack of success?!"

Bowser flashed his fangs and hissed, followed by snapping his claws and barking out an order. "Egghead! Display the Student Record!"

Eggman's mustache twitched as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a button, pressing it promptly. The other villains watched as an electronic screen descended from the ceiling, displaying all the information on every student in Villain Prep…except for Ryker, and to this very day, Ridley denied having any idea why _that_ was the case.

"I still fail to see what the problem is," huffed Dark Pit, lurking in the corner of the room hardly interested. Bowser grunted again and nodded toward Eggman, who sighed and got up to work the monitor.

"Look at all these grades!" Bowser exclaimed as the strings of C's, D's, very few B's, and several E's flooded the screen. "Are these people even trying anymore?! And look at these observation comments! Even my own son hasn't been at his best lately!"

"That is abysmal…" trailed Dedede, to which Giovanni nodded. "Even mah boy is barely squeaking by with a C!"

"That's because your son is a natural born hero!" exclaimed Wolf. "I swear he doesn't even have a bad bone in his body!"

"It's not my fault Hero High rejected him," Dedede huffed, shaking his head. "And we all saw what they did with that Ninty kid…"

"Yeah, but Ninty was obviously not a hero," stated Ganondorf. "Penji should've been admitted, regardless of who his parents were."

Ganondorf then took a quick scan at the screen again, only to throw himself at Eggman.

"WHY IN THE WORLD IS MY DAUGHTER FAILING YOUR CLASS?!"

"Because she's more into magic and gymnastics than she is about science and technology!" Eggman countered, pushing the King of Evil off of him. "Gee, I wonder why THAT is?!"

"My daughter is a prodigy! There's no reason why she's not perfect at everything!"

"Sorry to tell you, but she blows off all her assignments in Study Hall," scoffed Medusa.

"Not to mention she's _terrible_ at Anti-Anger Management!" Ridley added. Ganondorf was appalled at this, resorting to simply punching the wall. Bowser just kept gaping at the screen.

"I mean, Holle has more absences than everyone else combined, Ryker is impossible to teach because he's so apathetic, Dash is doing fine but he's not EVIL enough, Periwinkle's always sick all the time, Penelope doesn't care either, Darcy's just a plain old pain in the neck-"

"Take that back!" howled Wolf, unleashing his claws and creeping toward Bowser. Bowser simply picked up Wolf and hurled him across the room, just like the table.

"-I don't even trust that Sterling kid, with all that subtle speaking he does…and I thought Ninty would be easy to teach after seeing his difficulty at Hero High, but he refuses to accept anything!"

"The only one who's not failing anything is Connor, and he's even got straight A's," Giovanni stated. Eggman coughed and adjusted his collar boastingly.

"I don't even know how he's managed to pass MY class!" Ganondorf exclaimed.

"But of course my nephew is at the top! After all, any Robotnik is blessed with superior intelligence, and he takes after me in his skill at being evil!"

All the teachers fell silent at this, which made Eggman increasingly curious.

"…what?"

No one really wanted to answer, but Dark Pit stepped out of the shadows and hovered over Eggman.

"That great nephew of yours…you DO realize something is…_wrong _with him, don't you?" he asked, and Eggman seemed genuinely surprised at this.

"W-what? What do you mean by wrong?" the doctor insisted.

"It's strange…" Dedede trailed, twirling his hammer in his hand. "At the beginning of the year, he was decently ambitious, and he was actually a likeable person!"

"Speak for yourself," huffed Ganondorf.

"But as time went on, he…changed," Giovanni added, pulling his hat over his eyes. "It's almost a little jarring."

"Some days he'll be normal, but then others…he's distant, refuses to speak with anyone, and he's always muttering something to himself," Wolf commented.

"You really haven't noticed, Eggman?" Bowser asked, and Eggman glanced down.

"I…suppose I thought it was normal," he said quietly, and several eyebrows were raised. "After all, I acted in a similar manner as a teenager, as did my grandfather before me."

"…must be some Robotnik thing, then," Bowser huffed, snapping his fingers again. Eggman pulled himself out of his thoughts long enough to retract the screen, and Bowser kept on talking. "…anyway, I believe I've made it clear that our student body isn't exactly in the best shape, and if we don't start fixing this, the you-know-what might start failing…"

"The who-what?" asked Dark Pit aloofly, and Medusa smacked her forehead. Ganondorf rolled his eyes and sighed.

"The Discipline Core, duh," he sneered. "It's in the hidden chamber beneath this school, and if the students in this school drift away from what it represents…then the results won't be pretty. It'd be like if I wiped out some pathetic kingdom, Eggman enslaved it with robots, _and_ Viridi dropped a Reset Bomb onto it."

Dark Pit actually cringed at this, then rebutted by saying, "Whose genius idea was to build an opinionated school on top of such a dangerous artifact?!"

"Hero High's," stated Giovanni coolly. "They built their school on the Harmony Core, which is the other half to the Discipline Core. It's all in my history book if you're willing to read it-"

"No time," Bowser sighed, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was nearing eight. "I'd better get to homeroom…"

"Finally!" exclaimed Wolf, stretching in his chair before leaping to his feet.

"Before you're dismissed, though…" Bowser trailed, halting the pack of villains just before they passed through the doorway. "…I want to see some differences made today. Set the students back on the correct track, if you will…"

"We'll certainly do our best," murmured Eggman, gliding out of the door with everyone else. Bowser merely sighed as everyone exited, before grabbing all of his folders and departing himself. To his surprise, the villains had all hurriedly scattered into their classrooms, and the hall was empty…

…except for the little Aron that was hiding around the corner.

Upon seeing Bowser's terrifying physique, the Aron squealed and started running in the opposite direction. Bowser was baffled for a moment, but didn't have the time to dwell on it, as he had places to be.

Which worked just fine for Steelo, who recalled his Aron back into its chrome Poke Ball.

**Outside Villain Prep-**

The students of Villain Prep were lounging on the stairs to the school, waiting for the bell to tell them it was time to go inside. Dash Bowman, Prince Penji, and Periwinkle were currently huddled in a group, exchanging answers to the homeroom homework that none of them finished all the way.

"It is so impractical to write on pavement," exclaimed Peri, constantly finding herself smoothing out her dress and trying to get comfortable as she wrote.

"But if we don't get this done now, I don't think I can go through another barrage of the principal's fireballs…" murmured Penji. "It's just really hard for me to be sure of the answers I put down…"

"I feel the same; the moral questions tend to be the most challenging for me," Dash stated, his tail curling up in thought. "I'm always so conflicted."

Peri coughed a bit, gripping her coat for support before adjusting her glasses. "…these assignments would probably be easier if we were evil…"

Penji frowned and turned away; all of his teachers claimed that he was definitely more cutout to be a hero, and while he hadn't been shunned for it, it was starting to reflect in his studies. Peri then caught onto what she said and patted his shoulder.

"…sorry. It always slips my mind that it's a sensitive topic…"

"Well, in my opinion," began Dash, suddenly gripping his paper and nearly crushing it. "If being a hero means that you have to crush the dreams of others who aren't like you…then I'll take being evil any day. At least then you have nothing restricting you."

Peri stared curiously at Dash, as if the sentiment struck a nerve. But Dash took a deep breath, relaxed, and returned to working on his homework. Peri kept staring until Penji nudged her and shook his head.

"All he ever wanted was to join Team Star Fox," Penji whispered, low enough so that Dash wouldn't pick up on it. "But when Marcus, Lulu, and Skippy came into the picture…he was pushed out of it."

"And I guess the closest he could get was to join Darcy in the new Star Wolf?" Peri asked, and Penji nodded.

"Yup. He doesn't really like to talk about it, but he's just not happy…"

"I wouldn't be either, if_ I_ had to settle for Darcy's company," stated Peri, glancing over to where the wolf in purple was sitting on the stairs, no longer with the cast hindering her in any way. However, she was currently drawing circles in the dirt with the tip of her rifle, a growl building in her throat as Penelope Mack behind her was chowing down on a breakfast burrito.

It took every ounce of will power Darcy had to not turn around and use the end of her rifle to knock out Penelope.

"…why must you repulse everyone so, Penelope?" sneered Ninty, sitting on the step behind her. He didn't even bother looking at her; he was too busy playing a game on his handheld. Penelope just snorted and took another bite.

"I could ask you the same thing, _Reject_."

The sounds from Ninty's game halted as he paused it, the male psychic raising his head to glower coldly at his pathetic next door neighbor. Penelope seemed immune to his glare as she blissfully finished the last of her burrito with a loud and satisfying chomp.

"…it's people like you that make me think the way I do," he finally sneered, returning back to his game. Penelope merely shrugged.

"Hey, I never said I disagreed, I just think the way you went about it was wrong and now Villain Prep has been stuck with you for the past month," Penelope responded coolly.

Ninty decided not to waste his breath and focused solely on the game. Goddess Holle, sitting a few steps away, just watched the scene unfold and shook her head.

"…my goodness, I'm really not looking forward to judging his soul," she murmured, twirling a finger in her lively hair. "Just the sight of him is enough to give me a headache…"

"I hate that kid so much," Junior grunted, sharpening his claws absentmindedly. "He makes a mockery of what being evil truly is…"

Bowser Junior was in particular not very fond of Ninty, and not just because of the fact that Ninty had taken the glory out of Villain Prep's win at the Power Ball match. No, he was mad because Ninty had no idea _what _he was always spewing about, and his being at Villain Prep wouldn't lead to anything beneficial…

Unfortunately, his father had different thoughts, and now they were stuck with him.

However, Junior couldn't get anyone to do a thing about it. He tried his best to avoid the likes of Darcy and Penelope AND Ninty, Steelo was a weirdo, and anyone else who he could tolerate were…distracted. He watched Peri, Penji, and Dash talk amongst themselves as they finished their homework, hearing snippets of their conversation about 'not being evil enough'. Junior could respect that; some people just weren't cut out for a villainous lifestyle. It was another thing entirely if you didn't take the time to understand it- NINTY.

Then there was Holle and Zeborah, who were sitting back to back and looking as dull as ever.

"Things were easier when we liked the same boy, you know?" Holle murmured, blowing her bangs out of her face.

"Mmm-hmm, good times…" added Zeborah, not even bothering to look. Junior frowned in their direction, understanding why they felt so down completely.

Holle was miffed because she wanted to help Ryker, one of the newer students, but she didn't know how. Quite honestly, Junior found him to be a pain in the neck, despite how little he said. But after hearing his story, and learning why he was the way he was…you couldn't help but pity him, and for whatever reason, Holle had grown attached to him rather quickly. Still, she hadn't made much progress, and it was stressing her out. Yet there was nothing anyone could do to deter her determination.

Zeborah's problem, on the other hand…was a much more disconsolate one.

Her hair danced softly in the light spring breeze as her gazed stayed locked on the boy dressed in brilliant red sitting in the grass just beyond the stairs, faced away from the other students all on his lonesome.

The discomforting part was that he was talking to himself.

Ever since the day of the Power Ball match, that day he had snapped and shot Darcy with a ray gun…he'd changed. He was less of the polite and conserved yet brilliant individual that he used to be, and over the course of a month, he slowly became detached, distancing himself from people one by one and becoming more despicable with every passing day.

And while he had fleeting moments of normalcy, they were few and far in between.

"Just when…we were finally getting close…he pulled away again," Zeborah whispered to herself. Holle, overhearing her, frowned and put a hand on her shoulder.

"_I_ can't even tell what's wrong with him," she stated, shaking her head. "Guess Darcy just pushed him too far that day-"

"None of this is my fault!" Darcy hissed, jumping next to them and glowering at Connor. Zeborah whirled around and resisted the urge to slap her.

"Oh yeah? Then why did he go after YOU after he snapped?! Oh yeah, YOU were the one that provoked him!"

"There was obviously something off with him before, and we all were just too blind to see it," insisted Darcy.

"Including you," sneered Holle.

Peri, Penji, and Dash, who had just finished their homework at last, crawled over to the conversation and join in on looking at Connor.

"I actually thought he was kind of cool when I met him," Peri admitted, hanging her head.

"Well he's mine!" barked Zeborah, reaching back for her swords. However, her face fell and the energy drained away from her almost instantly. "…but at this rate, I don't think he's really anyone's…"

"I used to be fond of his intellect," Dash stated, looking thoughtful. "It brings me back to the first day where we all banded together to build Ridley's translator…"

"Well, some of us weren't here for that," snorted Penelope, injecting herself into the conversation much to everyone's chagrin. "My fondest memory of him is when he gave me a corndog for lunch!"

"Of course it was…" grumbled Dash disdainfully.

"Even though he's really good at being bad…he still was an excellent friend," added Penji, hanging his head.

"God, just LISTEN to you people…"

The conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of Ryker pulling up on the Ryker Cycle, with Ryker removing his helmet and glowering disinterestedly in everyone's direction with sparking orange eyes.

"You make it sound like he DIED or something! He's sitting right there!"

"Not like he can hear us," murmured Darcy.

"Well, if he wants to be left alone with the insane voices in his head telling him what to do, then fine. There are just some things in this universe that can't be fixed, you know."

Holle bit her lip just as the bell rang, which caused the kids to snap out of their brief trance, gather their things, and hurry into the building. Junior continued to sit on the stairs, watching everyone make a mad scramble for their lockers and homeroom. Once everyone had vanished from the stairs, Junior stood up and made his way toward the grass, where he proceeded to poke Connor Robotnik on the shoulder.

"…dude. It's time for school," he stated simply, not expecting to elicit a reaction the first time. Connor just stared forward, nodding slowly, but Junior hadn't been sure if the nod was for him. "Connor, come on; we'll be late!"

Connor just stayed sitting, gazing into space and mumbling something. Junior sighed and hung his head.

"I hate doing this to you every day, man, but…"

Junior took in a deep breath, and when he reached the apex of the breath, he released it as a supersonic scream; a sound so loud and intense that it would've broken the front windows of the school…had they not been broken for the past month.

Connor finally blinked after what seemed like a millennia, the force of the scream seeming to register within him several seconds later.

"ARRRRGH!" he shouted, holding his gloved hands to his ears as he fell onto his back. Junior ceased his scream and sighed deeply, watching Connor writhe in pain on the ground. When it finally subsided, Connor stood up and dusted himself off.

Junior had been expecting Connor to say something –he usually either thanked him or reprimanded him- but today, Connor simply mindlessly climbed up the steps, as if he was running on autopilot. Junior just looked on as he marched in, hanging his head in disappointment as he finally followed suit.

And all the students who had entered before them had been too distracted with their own issues to notice that Steelo had already entered the building _long_ before they had.

**Teacher's Lounge at Another School-**

In another school that was far more glamorous (and bigger) than Villain Prep, the day had started far more pleasantly, with all the teachers gathered together and making incredible progress on ways to improve the school. They were almost in perfect harmony, suggesting things that others agreed with, and making plans to go forward with the suggestions.

It was more than what Principal Mario could ever ask for.

His faithful secretary Adeleine was furiously scribbling down ideas as fast as they were born, the teachers having insisted on throwing around ideas for the certain "special event" later.

"There's gotta be some jammin' music," stated Sonic the Hedgehog, leaned back in his chair with his feet on the table. "I'll DJ, definitely."

"I'll decorate!" exclaimed Kirby, quivering with excitement. "I love decorating!"

"I'll handle special effects," Bounty Hunter Samus Aran hummed, looking pretty proud of herself. "I could rig up a mean laser light show-"

"One that'd probably kill us," murmured Chosen Hero Link. Fox, who was sitting next to him, nodded vigorously.

"No kidding," he said, shaking his head. "However, I'm more than happy to contribute my services by chaperoning, especially if no one else wants to do it."

"I'm up for chaperoning as well," mused Trainer Red, petting Pikachu on his shoulder.

"I'm only going if there's karaoke," the angel Pit quipped with his arms folded. "I have a golden voice, you know-"

"Slow down, SLOW DOWN!" demanded Adeleine, whose pencil was practically on fire with how fast she was writing. "Geez, I didn't think sign-ups would be this hectic!"

"I still don't have a job yet," Ness stated simply, twirling his yo-yo in circles as he tried to come up with something to do. His fellow psychic Lucas, standing behind him, meekly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Um, there's always set up? I could help you-"

"Okay!" Ness exclaimed, tossing his yo-yo in Adeleine's direction. "Make it happen, Addie!"

Adeleine simply nodded, still furiously writing. "All right…we still need someone in charge of food."

"I thought that was Peach's job?" asked Amy Rose. Adeleine merely shook her head.

"No, she said she had other things to attend to tonight…I'll just put Kawasaki down."

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I take photos?!" Ethan suddenly announced, waving his hands in the air. Adeleine merely smirked.

"Sorry, that's already my job. But I'm sure Red would welcome the help in chaperoning-"

"No," Red stated instantly, with Ethan rolling his eyes.

"Killjoys…"

"We DO need someone to stand at the door," Falco added, drumming his fingers. "After all, if more than just Hero High's students are allowed to come, someone's going to need to monitor the doorway."

Ethan stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. "No way! That sounds like a job for Moe, if you ask me!"

"HEY!" shouted Moe, a red pulsing 'X' appearing on the yellow clam's forehead. "How is that a good idea for ME?! In case everyone's blind here, I don't have any ARMS! Back me up here, Starf."

Starfy was currently in the middle of his morning nap. Queen Zelda sitting next to him simply shook her head.

"Clearly it's too early for some people…"

"Clearly this whole idea is stupid," mumbled Shadow the Hedgehog, who was barely paying attention on the floor.

"It is not stupid," Malon insisted. "I, for one, am VERY excited for this! I bet it's going to be a grand success!"

Most of the room chimed in agreement, with the only exceptions being the brooding Shadow, the ticked off Moe, and the sleeping Starfy. It was then that Meta Knight rose in his seat (by standing on it) and spread out his wings.

"Ah, before we get a little too carried away with this evening's plans…we must remember what this meeting was _truly_ for."

"Agreed," stated Miles "Tails" Prower next to him. "While this has been fun, we do have more pressing matters to attend to…"

Knuckles the Echidna simply crackled his knuckles. "_About time._ This is the only reason why I came…"

It was then that Princess Peach rose from her seat, adjusting the brooch on her dress before gliding over to the front of the room. She pulled out her closed umbrella and used it as a pointer to direct everyone's attention at the screen. Suddenly everyone fell into silence, and even the likes of Shadow seemed to perk up to attention.

"I know we've all got our hands full with tonight's event, but as it's been a month since the you-know-what has been affected, it's time that we've addressed this situation for what it is…it's only a_ small_ issue, but one that will get bigger if it goes unchecked."

"Is this about that Ninty kid wreaking havoc right under our noses?" asked Falco, scratching his beak. Peach only nodded.

"Yes. As we all know, this school was built upon the Harmony Core, which is half of the force that sustains life in the universe," Peach stated dramatically. "As this building is the closest thing TO the Harmony Core, if what it represents is not demonstrated in this school, it will become hectically unstable, and not even the best of us will be able to contain its power."

"And we all know that we don't need another inter-dimensional crisis," Ness replied.

"With Ninty's unexpected meddling, it has put the Harmony Core in a state of…_concern_," Peach continued. "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about, but if any more inharmonic acts are committed in this school…we may be in trouble."

"…hence why we wanted to know if we should tell the kids or not, so they know not to do anything to upset the balance," finished Tails.

"I'm just surprised they didn't figure it out already," mused Fox. "After all, it's not like the entrance is exactly secret-"

"But only a select few can get in," Samus finished coldly. The group then fell into a strong silence, until Mario glanced at the clock and slammed his hammer onto the table. Peach brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face and turned back to the group.

"Yes, well, it appears we've run out of time," she stated at last, smoothing out her dress. "I suppose we'll have to finishing addressing this later, but we don't leave this building until we do-!"

"I wasn't planning on leaving anyway," laughed Link as he stood up, with Zelda shaking her head afterward. Peach chuckled to herself and gracefully ushered everyone out, the last being Mario and Adeleine. Peach gave them both a delicate wave before twirling around and exiting the door herself, firmly hoping that nothing would get too out of hand...if anything were to, _theoretically_, happen.

**Outside Hero High-**

Outside the front entrance to Hero High, the students were waiting for the bell to ring, all gathered in groups talking amongst themselves. However, one of them was running around the area like a madwoman.

"AAAAAAHHH I'VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED IN MY LIFE!" screamed the angel Angelina, who was tired of running and eventually resorted to flying. She squealed as she twirled in the air, clearly unable to contain her excitement.

"I'm looking forward to tonight's plans as well," giggled Pink, cheeks almost as pink as her clothing. "How about you all?"

The other girls weren't _nearly_ as entertained.

"I guess it'll be okay," murmured Lulu, practicing her acrobatics off to the side.

"It could be fun, but it's not usually my thing," Elysia added, drawing something in her notebook.

"It's definitely not MY thing," scoffed Princess Zelda, twirling her sword high over her head before spinning around in the grass. She'd just given the school free lawn-cutting service.

Tenn, meanwhile, was resting on the arm of the stairs, chewing a piece of grass in her mouth as she laid on her back and stared up to the sky. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail today, so Pink leaned over from where she was sitting and tugged Tenn's hair gently.

"Tenn? Are you excited?"

Tenn just shrugged.

"…yeah, I think it'll be fun," Tenn finally stated, continuing to gnaw on her grass. "…I just don't want to wear a dress."

"Me neither!" shrieked Zelda, now stabbing at a nearby bush. "It's an infringement of our rights!"

"It's a formal occasion," Pink laughed. "So we're just going to have to live with it."

"If you say so," Lulu retorted, balancing on one hand.

Angelina eventually stopped floating on her cloud and descended to join the other girls. Folding her wings, she gained a glazed look in her eyes.

"You know…I wonder what the boys are thinking right now?"

"Who cares?" snorted Zelda, although she didn't fail to notice Elysia, Lulu, Angelina, Tenn, and Pink glance in the boys' direction.

"AAAAAAH! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO NERVOUS IN MY LIFE!" screamed resident punk Purple, although his spontaneous outburst was cut off by Starlos, who leapt up and clamped Purple's mouth shut.

"Good lord, man! Don't let the girls know that!" he exclaimed, sounding exasperated. "Ladies love confidence!"

Aside from Purple, the rest of the guys were relatively unconcerned about what was going down that night. Damien was peacefully meditating next to a tree, Coby and Marcus were partaking in a quick sparring match, Skippy and Alph were cheering them on, Junichi was watching a butterfly on a flower, and Luke was leaning against the stairs, looking placid as he scribbled something in his journal.

Seriously, Purple was the only one that was distraught.

"Come on," he huffed, trying to regain what little edge he had left. "You can't tell me you guys aren't the slightest bit nervous."

"No," hummed Marcus, driving a kick at Coby who easily sidestepped it. Coby retaliated with a series of fast jabs.

"Yeah, me neither."

"I'm actually looking forward to it," stated Alph, with Skippy tipping his cowboy hat in agreement.

"As next in line to rule Hyrule, social gatherings such as the one we will be partaking in tonight will be no big deal for me-" Damien had started to say, but Junichi stopped him before he started rambling.

"I'm naturally a little nervous," Luke admitted, being the only one to remotely empathize with Purple. "But I'm not going to let it ruin my time. You should do the same, Purple."

Purple groaned and let himself fall back into the grass, lying right next to his acoustic guitar.

"I know…you just need to tell that to my nerves."

"Your nerves are weak," scoffed Starlos. "Show a little spine. Everything's going to be _fine_."

It was then that Skippy scooted over to Marcus and pulled him to the side.

"…I actually have no idea what we're talking about," he admitted. Marcus' eyes widened as he smacked his forehead.

"Are you kidding me, Skip? We've only been talking about this for a month!" the blue fox exclaimed. Sighing, his frown then turned into a smile. "You know, everyone's all in a frenzy about the-"

The bell chose that incredibly impromptu time to ring, and Marcus stopped himself to simply shrug and wink at Skippy.

"Eh, guess you'll find out inside, bud!"

Skippy stomped his foot and let out a frustrated grunt, but hurried to follow his fellow classmates into the building. Coby plowed through everyone, cackling on his Warp Star, while the girls simply burst out giggling to themselves before flooding into the building as a single entity. Purple just watched them enter with a look of intrigue.

"…I really wish I knew how girls worked."

"Don't we all," hummed Luke, adjusting his cap. "Luckily the ones I get entangled with are never too complicated…but they're still a puzzle I've yet to solve."

"Women: life's final mystery," Damien added in, stretching as he stepped away from the tree. "If we knew, then maybe I could figure out how my sister works…"

Luke laughed and trotted up the steps, Damien following with his cape billowing out from behind him. Purple was the last into the building, sticking a hand in his pocket as he picked up his guitar and turned to greet the morning sky once again.

"…come on Purple, chin up," he told himself, smirking at the sun. "…today will be a good day…won't it?"

He honestly didn't know the answer, but he spun forward again and marched into the building to find out.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Man<em> it's unhealthy to be this excited...anyway, I have no idea what the update schedule will be. It'll mostly depend on response, but keep an eye out on Saturdays, at least. And now, claimer/disclaimer! My favorite part!**

**I only own: Prince Damien, "Kid" Zelda, Coby, Junichi the Hedgehog, Elysia Aran-Higgs, Tenn, Trainer Pink, Trainer Purple, Angelina, Starlos, Zeborah Dragmire, Connor Robotnik, Prince Penji, Goddess Hel (Holle), Rival Periwinkle (Peri), Rival Sterling (Steelo), Ninty, Penelope Mack, Darcy O'Donnell, Ryker L. Rondinelli...and that's _totally_ it. _No_ other characters _exist_. **

**I do NOT own: Luke Triton, Marcus McCloud, Skippy Toad, Lulu Hare, Dash Bowman, Alph, Bowser Junior, two guest characters that will appear later on, and obviously the horde of awesome video game characters that we all (more or less) know and love. **


	2. So We've Been Thinking

**SonicSonic54321: **Originally a few more characters were supposed to appear, but I couldn't quite make it work this time. Got too messy. I can assure a few -_plenty_- more familiar faces for the fourth story though, natch. ;)

. . .

**Ah, little reminder-**

**Team Mario is Mario, Link, Sonic, Kirby, Samus  
>Team ZAP is Peach, Amy, and Zelda (and technically Adeleine)<br>Team Luigi is Luigi, Malon, Tails, Meta Knight, and Knuckles  
>Team BEG is Bowser, Eggman, and Ganondorf (with Dedede and Ridley as associates)<br>The Alliance is Red, Pit, Ness, Fox, and Starfy  
>And the Allies are Falco, Ethan, Lucas, Moe, and -by default- Shadow.<br>Everyone else is a Freelancer. :P **

**I mentioned it fleetingly (and not very in depth) somewhere in GNG2, but just so we're all on the same page. It's been a while. ^^**

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 2: So We've Been Thinking

**Before First Period-**

Peri had been in the middle of putting her poufy periwinkle parka into her locker (which took a lot of effort, actually) when she noticed Steelo casually stride over to his locker next to hers, spin the combination, and pop the door open.

"…good morning, Sterling," she said with a cautious air, grabbing her book for homeroom as she adjusted her red glasses. "…I don't believe I saw you outside earlier."

"A fine day to you as well, Periwinkle," Steelo replied with the same tone and a tip of his hat, also tucking his book under his arm. "I suspect that you weren't very attentive this morning, considering you failed to register that I happened to be the first one here."

Peri slammed her door close and placed a gloved hand on her hip. "Steelo, darling, you're not exactly a hard one to miss; that suit of yours could be seen from space."

Steelo leaned against his locker and smirked to himself. "Yes, well, I _am _guilty of turning a few heads."

"_No_," Peri huffed, clenching her fists. "I_ mean_ that there's no way I, or even anyone would've missed you!"

Steelo simply shrugged and twirled away, shutting his locker door in the same movement.

"Well, Ninty saw me, if you require proof."

Peri made a face. "Yuck. I don't talk to that loser."

Steelo shrugged again, and Peri growled in retaliation.

"Well, frankly my dear…that's not my problem."

**First Period, Homeroom-**

Principal Bowser sat hunched at his desk, still glaring a hole into that blank piece of paper; that blindingly white proof of his lack of accomplishment. He growled and tried to resist the urge to set the page on fire, but only advised against it because his desk would be set ablaze too.

Therefore, to take his mind off it, he resorted to watching the students enter the room.

Naturally his son was front and center, although he wasn't sitting as straight today as he usually would. Zeborah plunked next to him with little enthusiasm, Holle behind them both, Penji next to Junior, and Peri next to Penji. Bowser noticed that they all sat huddled, and somewhat secure, as if their bond would dissipate if they sat any farther. Bowser actually frowned at this, as usually Connor was sitting somewhere near Junior.

Today, he was sitting in Holle's old seat; the one in the far back corner of the room. He wordlessly sat down and immediately took out his black notebook, and got to work writing down some of his future brilliant plans. Bowser normally would've praised this, but that kid's demeanor was seriously creeping him out…

Then in the opposite corner was Ryker, who was carving unsavory drawings in his wooden desk with the tip of his machete…and yet Bowser knew better than to ask him to stop. As he did that, Steelo sat two seats in front of him, and Ninty (still with his face buried in the game) sat beside him.

Dash took a seat in the middle next to Darcy, and Penelope plopped herself into the desk in front of Steelo, chowing down on a box of crackers…

…it looked like everyone was there.

"Good morning, students," Bowser hummed, glancing through his lesson plans. "I see you're all very…lively, today."

No one responded. Bowser cringed; sheesh, tough crowd.

"O-kay, I GUESS I'll take attendance…"

"What, you can't tell if we're all here or not?" snorted Darcy, raising an eyebrow. Bowser peered at her over his reading glasses.

"…it's protocol, Miss O'Donnell," he responded calmly, getting his pencil ready. "Bowser Junior- you better be here…"

"Here, Dad," Junior huffed, his beady black eyes staring at his father sarcastically. Bowser stared right back before moving down the list.

"Dash Bowman?"

"Present," stated the intelligent albino monkey in the navy and silver jumpsuit, raising a hand aloofly.

"Zeborah Dragmire?"

"Yeah," sighed the Gerudo teenager decked out in magenta, twirling the end of her long red ponytail around her finger.

"Holle?"

"Hey, finally called me by what I want to be called," the Goddess of the Afterlife and Queen of the Underworld mused, leaning back in her chair and placing her long black boots on her desk. Her lively black hair billowed behind her, contrasting her gray dress and amber eyes. "…took ya long enough."

"Penelope Mack?"

"Chomp chomp," …came from the chubby girl with the blonde pigtails as she munched her crackers, her eyes hidden by her messy bangs. Her orange overalls and apricot-colored shoes weren't looking too clean either. Bowser recoiled and marked her presence.

"Darcy O'Donnell?"

"Ayup," grunted the gray wolf in the purple jumpsuit, filing her claws profusely.

"Prince Penji?"

"As always," hummed the blue penguin in the royal green garb resembling his adoptive father's, wringing his mittens together as he always did so nervously.

"Peri-"

"YES," Peri interrupted, rubbing her fingers on her temples. Her periwinkle-colored plaid dress was looking as distressed as she was, and her short, pixie-cut hair wasn't faring too much better. Bowser quirked an eyebrow in her direction.

"…don't tell me you're sick AGAIN. You know we don't have a Nurse's Office!"

Peri slid a glance over to Steelo and pushed her red glasses farther up her nose. "…it's just a headache. It'll pass."

Bowser rolled his eyes and carried on. "…hmph, that's what you said last week…Connor Robotnik?"

"Present," stated the dark blonde boy in the back, staring at Bowser with his blue eyes. His silver goggles were strapped firmly on his head, his royal red coat was in place, and his black boots and gray pants were neat and tidy…

Connor Robotnik was physically there but Bowser highly doubted he was there mentally.

"…anything you want to talk about, Connor?" Bowser asked, sounding concerned. "I know I'm evil, but I'm always willing to lend an ear."

"…there is nothing I wish to share with you," Connor said as emptily as possible, returning his attention back to his notebook. Bowser grunted in response while the kids in the front row were looking abysmal.

"…very well then. Ryker Rondinelli."

"_Here_," Ryker stated dramatically in his purple battle suit, scraping his razor against his desk and grinning like a slap-happy psychotic fool.

Bowser was scared.

"Uh…Ryker…you seem to be in an unnaturally good mood today. And I_ really_ mean unnatural."

Ryker simply shrugged, flipped his white hair back, and retracted his blade.

"What can I say? Everyone's more miserable than I am today, therefore I appear happier compared to everyone else."

It made so much sense and yet…it was so disturbing.

"Sterling?"

"Perfectly present," exclaimed the silver-suited boy, lifting the tip of his cap with his thumb before giving his teacher a dazzling grin. Bowser was not amused.

"…and Ninty-"

"Meh," sneered the psychic boy with the blue and red beanie and blue shoes, still with his eyes locked into his handheld. Ever since he transferred to Villain Prep, Ninty made valiant attempts to not speak to anyone, since both villains and heroes alike were aware of what he was like and hated him for it, and he just didn't want to deal with anyone. In a way, he had pulled into himself, no longer having the bravado or the finesse to manipulate people…he couldn't even find the energy in him to give anyone the time of day.

And Bowser _would've_ pitied him, had Ninty not had one exception in Steelo.

"…well, at least no one's absent," Bowser murmured, with Holle sticking out her tongue. "In any case, we'll pick up where we left off yesterday, where I was telling the valiant story of how I kidnapped Princess Peach-"

"Which one was that again?" Darcy snickered, and Junior facepalmed.

"The one where I brought her into space. Twice!" Bowser replied, continuing on. "Now, there we were, at the center of the universe…!"

"Ugh," sighed Holle, resting her head on her palm. "I heard this one already…"

"Heard it? I lived it!" Junior exclaimed, throwing his arms up. "I know how this one ends…"

"The same way they _all_ do?" scoffed Dash.

Penji leaned over to poke Peri with his eraser. "Are we supposed to take notes…?"

"I think he's just gloating for the sake of it," hummed Peri.

Junior just leaned back in his chair and watched as Bowser got REALLY into his story, his gaze drifting elsewhere. Pretty much every student was opting to neglect Bowser's spiel, although Steelo appeared to be deep in thought about something, but Zeborah seemed even more so. Junior leaned across the aisle to get a closer look, and it appeared that she was circling something on a…poster?

"What are you doing?" Junior asked, and Zeborah jumped.

"Be quiet! Don't attract so much attention!" she hissed, hurriedly erasing a mistake made during her jump. Junior looked astonished.

"Yeesh, I just asked-"

"Shhh," Zeborah hissed again, golden eyes darting back and forth erratically. When she decided that no one was really paying attention, she then showed Junior the poster and smiled slightly. Junior just gaped at it.

"…what am I looking at?"

"Sigh, _must_ I spell out everything?"

"Yes, since I haven't the slightest clue as to what you're trying to tell me."

Zeborah sighed, snuck a look at Bowser who was still ranting, and slid the poster into her notebook. "…okay. That poster was an advertisement for something 'fun' going down at Hero High tonight. This poster states that anyone is welcome to come, and it didn't specifically call out villains as an exception-"

"Zeborah, whether there's a loop hole or not, they'd totally recognize us and kick us out," Junior huffed. "They'd think we were up to no good, which is a perfectly logical assumption…but why DO you want to go to this?"

"Well, I'd been thinking…" she trailed, glancing to the corner of the room where Connor resided. "…Connor's been getting really distant lately, despite everything we've tried to do. Maybe if I convince him to come with me to this thing…it'll bring him out of his funk."

Junior nodded understandingly. "I suppose your heart is in the right place…but still, you couldn't get in. The heroes would recognize you and-"

"No they won't!" Zeborah practically sang. "And why? …it's because it's a _masquerade_."

And Junior's jaw dropped.

"You are_ not_ seriously considering-!"

"I would consider anything for Connor," Zeborah insisted, sitting poised and lifting her chin high. "Are you willing to do the same?"

Junior had to think about it for a second but Holle wasted no time in getting involved.

"Ooh, a masquerade…sounds intriguing!" she exclaimed darkly, and Zeborah bit her lip. "Maybe I could bring Ryker and pull him out of his shell too!"

"I've never been to one before," Penji whispered. "Can I come too?"

"I wanna come if Penji gets to go," added Peri, actually looking a bit excited. Zeborah puffed out her cheeks and pulled her ponytail.

"All right, you can all come, but you HAVE to keep this hush hush! No adults can find out, and no one besides us, Connor, and maybe Ryker can know, okay?!"

"What about Dash?" Junior asked. Zeborah gave Junior the stink eye.

"Well, if he somehow manages to find out, then I guess he can come, but only if he promises to not tell Darcy. We don't need_ her_ screwing things up," Zeborah hummed. "Darcy can't know, Penelope can't know, Steelo can't know, and especially Ninty can't know…does everyone understand?"

"This sounds like a scandal…" huffed Peri.

"I want to know why I haven't heard about this before," Holle added.

"I only found out a few days ago myself…" Zeborah trailed. "Found one of these posters on my way to school. But the point is…we must keep this quiet, and we must remember why we're doing this…and have a little fun too!"

Junior, Holle, Peri, and Penji all nodded, until a stream of fire was suddenly hurled in their direction. They all yelped and gaped at Bowser, who had smoke billowing out of his mouth.

"How DARE you converse while I tell tales of my awesomeness!"

"Uh…sorry?"

Bowser just snorted and continued his rant, with the five students exuding sighs of relief before winking at each other. They then attempted to listen to Bowser for the rest of the hour, but the same couldn't be said for some of the other students.

"…they appear to be planning something; that much is obvious," stated Steelo after several minutes of observing Zeborah's group. "I'd like to find out what; just to make sure it doesn't intersect with _our_ plans."

"That is, if our plans are even in effect," responded Ninty gruffly, growling as he lost a life in his game. "…you_ did_ do your part this morning, am I right?"

"Of course," hummed Steelo, twirling around a black chip between his fingers. "_Finally_ got just the info we needed…and now we can begin Phase Two."

"About time; I thought we weren't _ever_ getting started…" Ninty grumbled. Steelo shook his head in response.

"Oh but Ninty…"

Ninty paused his game and turned to face Steelo, whose subtle smirk was bursting with confidence.

"….what you fail to realize is that we already have, and _no one_ has a clue."

**First Hour, Heroic Basics-**

Coby crashed into his desk via plowing into his seat with his Warp Star, nearly toppling the whole thing over. Zelda, Pink, and Angelina were in next, followed by Lulu, Marcus, Tenn, and Starlos, and then eventually everyone else. They sat in no methodical order, simply heading to the nearest empty seats. They were all abuzz with their conversations from earlier, and were so preoccupied when they finally heard their teacher speak to them.

"Good morning, class."

The shocking part was that the voice was female…and almost instantly the class organized themselves into order.

"Hello, Princess Peach," the replied monotonously and unanimously.

"It's an honor to have you in our presence!" shouted Damien, throwing his arms up.

"We're not worthy!" Marcus and Skippy yelled next, following Damien's lead and starting to bow.

Peach just stood at the front of the room and brushed her bangs out of her face.

"…okay, that's_ far_ too formal. You all know me; mellow out a bit," she giggled, and the class heaved a single sigh of relief at once. Peach put her hand on her hip and smiled. "That's MUCH better."

"Where's Luigi?" asked Alph, with his hand raised into the air.

"He's out gathering some things for tonight, which I will explain later, thus I am his substitute for the hour. However, before we get into the good stuff, I must take attendance first," the princess responded, picking up Luigi's attendance book and flipping through it. "…ah, here it is! Okay, Angelina? Are you here?"

"Of course!" exclaimed the pink-clad angel with cotton candy colored wings. Her curly brown hair bounced with excitement upon being called, and Peach couldn't resist a smile.

"Coby?"

"Yup!" exclaimed the orange Star Warrior with brown feet sprawled out over the floor, his pale yellow mask having fallen over his face. He pushed it onto his forehead with his small hand and grinned meekly at Peach. "Sorry, I get excited easily…"

"No worries; I'm used to it," she laughed, skimming down the list. "Elysia Aran-Higgs?"

"Present as always!" laughed the tall tan girl towards the back in the green and black zero suit. Her black ponytail swayed when she waved at Peach, blinking her blue eyes in disbelief. Peach nodded and waved back.

"Nice to see you, Ellie," she stated, continuing on. "Damien Hyrule?"

"I am here!" the prince in royal blue nodded, partially wrapped up in his red and blue cape.

"Hi, sweetie. Zelda Hyrule?"

"'Sup Peach," the swordswoman in the pink tunic responded, sitting on her desk rather than her chair and swinging her boots above the floor. Damien nearly keeled over in embarrassment at his sister's boorish behavior and lack of tact, but Peach didn't reprimand her at all, simply waving again.

"Lulu Hare?"

"Hello!" exclaimed the tall gray rabbit with a pink and red jumpsuit, sitting poised in her seat.

"Junichi the Hedgehog?"

"I'm here," murmured the young purple hedgehog with currently grey eyes, bandages covering various parts of his body, a pair of red shoes, and silver inhibitor rings now adorning his wrists and ankles. He was so shy that he couldn't really make eye contact with Peach, but he did attempt to speak more clearly.

"Marcus McCloud?"

"Present!" the blue fox with the silver jacket, red scarf, and yellow jumpsuit stated proudly, giving Peach a thumbs up.

"Alph?"

Alph adjusted his space helmet, covering his round face and wisp of blue hair, before he nodded at Peach. "Yeah, I'm here!"

"Pink?"

"I wouldn't miss today for anything," the preppy girl in pink and white chuckled, flipping her dark brown hair over her shoulder.

"Purple?"

"…here," the punk in purple and black murmured, suddenly distracted by something. Angelina just shook his head at him from across the room, and even Starlos twirled the tip of his blue and white propeller cap in annoyance. Peach tilted her head a bit at this, but continued the roll call.

"Skippy Toad?"

"Yes!" exclaimed the orange toad with the brown cowboy hat, waving his arms excitedly.

"Luke Triton?"

"Here and present, ma'am," hummed the British boy in blue, adjusting his cap out of habit. He pushed his brown bag a little higher over his shoulder before giving Peach a gentlemanly smile.

"Starlos?"

"Indeed," chimed the green star-like creature.

"And Tenn…hey, you're here on time!" Peach exclaimed, looking up from the book.

"I'm trying to break the habit," stated the female psychic with the red bandana, red and blue golfing visor, yellow-striped shirt, jean shorts, and red shoes. Peach scanned the attendance sheet and nodded.

"Yes…it appears you've been on time every day this week.

Tenn flashed a grin and tossed her long black and blonde hair back. "Heh, new record!"

"…and that's everyone," Peach concluded, closing the book and tossing it on the desk. Seeing the action caused the students to stir in anticipation with what Peach was going to say. "Now, as I'm sure all of you are aware of, tonight is the night of our Spring Masquerade Dance-"

"OOOOOH!" shouted Skippy completely out of nowhere, startling Junichi straight out of his desk and turning his eyes orange. Everyone else in the room turned to gawk at him as he got excited. "_THAT'S_ what everyone was being so hush hush about!"

"Yes…" trailed Lulu, bringing her hand to her forehead. "Everyone's known about this for weeks…"

Skippy looked insulted as he put his hands on his hips. "Well I _didn't_!"

"Calm down, the important thing is that we're all on the same page now," Peach hummed, quieting everyone down. "Yes, that's tonight, and everyone will have to dress formal-"

Zelda pretended to gag in Tenn's direction, with the female psychic returning the sentiment.

"-and also don a mask!"

"I was born for this night!" Coby boasted, showing off his yellow mask as he pulled it back over his face. Peach giggled a bit and turned to the orange puffball.

"Coby, sweetie, wouldn't you rather have a different mask? After all, if you wear that one, everyone will know right off the bat that it's you!"

"But Meta Knight gave me this mask," Coby insisted, pushing it back off again. "And besides, I'm the shortest one in the school. Everyone's going to know it's me anyway."

"Not necessarily," Peach put out. "Remember, there may be people from outside the school attending the dance, and they'll be in disguise too, so you never know what'll happen!"

Coby simply shrugged as Angelina squealed next to him.

"Eeek! I'm so excited…!"

"We know!" shouted Tenn, Zelda, Marcus, Starlos, and Purple, to which Angelina blushed and sank back into her seat.

"In any case," Peach interrupted, proceeding to write something on the board. "You'll have to get through the school day first…and yes, you'll have to learn something."

Groaning surfed through the crowd of students, but it wasn't as loud as usual…especially once the students caught sight of what today's topic was.

"The Ten Essences of the Universe…" trailed Elysia in awe. When Peach had finished writing, she turned to face the class once again.

"We're only going to talk about one of them today, but can anyone name them off?"

"Leadership, Courage, Will Power, Resolve, Happiness, Determination, Innocence, Loyalty, Integrity, and Tenacity," Lulu rattled off without missing a beat. Peach gave a light applause.

"Hey, I can name the Four Balances!" exclaimed Luke, waving his hand like crazy. "Logic, Rhythm, Truth, and Reason!"

"That is also correct," she mused, before resting her cheek in her palm. "However, can anyone tell me the _eleventh_ essence that is easy to overlook…?"

The class was unusually silent, and shockingly enough, it was Purple that raised his hand. Peach excitedly called on him.

"Yes, Purple?"

"Um…that eleventh one…isn't it love?" he wondered, nervously twisting his spiked bracelets around his wrists. The class stared at Purple curiously until Peach nodded, writing the word 'love' on the board.

"…you are correct," Peach confirmed, and the whole class seemed surprised. Purple pulled his hat over his eyes.

"What? I do a lot of reading…"

"And it's a good thing that you do," Peach concluded, stepping a few paces forward. "Now, normally when you think of love, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"

"An unrequited crush," Starlos answered immediately. He, Angelina, Tenn, and Coby snickered in Purple's direction, with Purple sinking in his seat. Pink bit her lip subconsciously as Luke smacked his forehead. Peach put on a small smile and laughed nervously.

"Um, I guess that's one form…but love comes in_ many_ different shapes and sizes."

Her wind came back as she drifted across the floor, scribbling many words excitedly onto the board.

"Needless to say, love is the most powerful thing in the universe. Now, I know that's been said many times in the past so it sounds cheesy, but only because it's true."

"Yeah," Damien piped up, looking intrigued. "My mother mentioned something of the sort when she was substituting for my father's class that one time…she said that your Heart Power was a physical manifestation for all the love in the universe, and it's also love that prevents us from experiencing another Big Crash…"

"…yes," Peach stated softly, clasping her hands together. "…while that's not exactly a topic I enjoy speaking of, it's certain true. Part of the reason the Big Crash happened in the first place was because all the worlds had lost faith at one point…but what do I know about history? If you really want to know, you'll have to ask your history teacher."

"Of course we do," sighed Coby. "Maybe we'll get an impression of Luigi out of it."

"The point I'm trying to get across today is about all the forms love can come in," Peach explained, brightening up a little. "Love can be, as you said, the affection one has for another; it tells you when you want to be with a person forever…it makes you feel happy just to see that person smiling, laughing…having fun."

"I feel like I've heard that before," Marcus whispered to Alph, who could only shrug. Peach jammed her umbrella to the ground, and the duo instantly turned back to attention.

"Love can also be a passion," Peach continued, brightening with each word. "An affection for something you care for very much; something you like to live your life by…whether it be a belief, an activity, or even an idea…"

"So, that'd be like Sonic's passion for freedom?" Junichi asked.

"Ooh! Or Pit's loyalty to Lady Palutena?!" added Angelina excitedly.

"My cousin's dedication to training his Pokemon, maybe?" Pink wondered, twirling her ponytail again.

"Or even the professor's passion for puzzles and tea?" Luke chuckled under his breath, also gaining a few lighthearted chuckles.

"Or Kirby's love for food!" cried Coby, and that got uproarious laughter. Peach was laughing too and eagerly nodded.

"Yes, those would all be correct," she giggled, continuing on. "…a special kind of love is found in friendships too. It's the hardest to explain, but the examples of it are endless…"

"That kind of love can exceed generations, I think," Luke stated, smiling a bit sadly.

"I think it can transcend lifetimes," Angelina put in, tossing her hair.

"It's the kind of love that can be found in all the teams, huh?" Elysia asked, with Peach confirming. "…it's the kind of love that has kept teams Mario, Luigi, ZAP, and BEG whole for all these years, and also brought the Alliance and the Allies together…"

Peach just shrugged. "What can I say; life and death situations really bring people together…"

"So, friendship is a kind of love, huh?" Marcus asked, standing up in his chair and spreading out his arms. "Then I love all you guys!"

"Yes, and the only thing we don't love about you is that ego of yours," laughed Tenn, tapping his seat with her foot and causing him to stumble a bit. Marcus yelped and quickly sat back down, but he was grinning.

"Ha ha, anyway, and there is also unconditional love," Peach carried on, starting to wrap up her spiel after catching sight of the clock. "That's a love that's found in family, or people who you consider family…"

Peach then closed her eyes and smiled sadly, as if she was reminiscing on something.

"You all have no idea how proud your parents, guardians, or friends were when they first met you all…whether it be your mothers and fathers holding you the first time, your cousins or mentors laying eyes on you for the first time ever, or your friends seeing you for that first time and getting to realize what an amazing person you turned out to be…" The class noticed Peach sniffling a bit at this point, but no one wanted to call the princess out on it. "…and then them getting the chance to watch you grow up and become excellent heroes…"

Peach opened her eyes again, and everyone could tell she was crying. Damien was the first to jump out of his seat and hurry over to her, followed by Luke and Pink.

"Your Highness, are you all right?" Pink asked, just as Damien and Luke offered their support. Peach just shook her head and brushed them away, sitting in Luigi's chair.

"No, I'm okay, I guess…I'm just emotional," she laughed through tears. "Let's be glad I'm not angry right now!"

"If anyone's emotional, it's me," stated Junichi. "…although I haven't been nearly as bad since Uncle Shads suggested that I get myself some inhibitor rings."

"The point is," Damien interrupted, turning back to Peach. "You are my mother's best friend, and therefore it is my duty to prevent you from being sad."

"And a true gentleman never wants to see a lady sad," Luke added, pointing his finger upward. "So…tell us what's wrong."

Peach, through her tears, looked up at all the kids and actually considered telling them what was wrong…but then the bell decide to ring, so she wiped her eyes dry and smiled at them on the way out.

"…it's nothing, really, I promise. I'm just a wuss sometimes," Peach explained, although the skeptical looks she got on the students' way out stated that they definitely didn't believe her. However, once the last one out (Purple) shut the door behind him, Peach burst out crying and planted her head on Luigi's desk, hiding her head behind her arms and letting herself sob.

**After First Hour-**

"Duuuude, what got into Princess Peach?" asked Starlos, scratching his head. "She was doing a really good job teaching and I was totally interested, and then she started talking about unconditional love and she lost it!"

"I guess it's just not our place to ask…" Purple trailed, shaking his head. "But speaking of asking, I have GOT to work up the nerve to ask Pink to the dance!"

Starlos heard that and instantly burst out laughing uncontrollably. "Bahahahaha _DUDE_! You're going to wait until the day OF?!"

"…I _procrastinated_, okay?! I'm not exactly a go-getter," Purple mumbled as he glanced to the side. Starlos rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we all know that. But waiting until the last minute like this…? I dunno bro, you're probably already too late…"

"Please!" insisted Purple, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Pretty much everyone's aware of…well, what goes on between us! What guy would dare ask her knowing the risk?"

Starlos nearly choked on air. "Pah, _risk_…?! Ahem, what if it was_ Pink_ that asked someone?!"

"Who would it have been? Besides, this is all purely hypothetical," Purple asserted. Starlos grabbed his head and bugged out his eyes.

"Oh my goodness, your ignorance shall be the death of you…whatever, live in your little bubble of clueless bliss until something comes along and pops it, but don't come crying to me!"

Purple muttered something under his breath as he to their next hour class, trying to maintain a confident attitude. Starlos bit his lip and trotted behind him, refusing to stir up anymore waves.

Meanwhile, Prince Damien was sorting through his very organized and alphabetized stuff in his locker just down the hall from Luigi's class, finally locating his history book and his folder, tucking them under his arm.

"…ah, ready for history," he hummed contently to himself, although he was still a little distraught at Peach's outburst. He frowned to himself and decided that it might be a good idea to check up on Peach one last time. However, when he turned to head back into Luigi's class…he found someone staring into the classroom through the crack of the door, looking somewhat shocked.

And frankly, it was someone Damien had never seen before.

He had only the time to register that the strange character was female, but he could figure out little else, as she'd spotted him and gasped, immediately hiding her face with a fan before sprinting away in an instant. Damien just gaped at the spot where she'd been standing, trying to remember the finer details about her, but all that was in his head was that fan…

"…definitely bizarre," Damien told himself, once he accepted that the girl had vanished without a trace. "I must be seeing things…and I also must be getting to class."

Shaking it off, Damien wrapped his cape around himself and chanted "Farore's Wind!", disappearing from the hall and heading for his next destination.

…leaving the girl he'd seen to peer around the corner of the hall to check if the coast was clear, all aspects of her face but her eyes hidden by her fan…


	3. No Stupid Questions

**Wasn't going to post this today, but I have been persuaded otherwise. ...plus, we need to get the ball rolling! Tip of the iceberg right here!**

**...but if you need me, I'm being _responsible_ and holding off on Smash 4 Wii U until the end of the semester. The _agony_...! Give me strength. Help. **

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 3: No Stupid Questions

**Before Second Period-**

Steelo was attentive as ever, though merely appearing aloof as he nonchalantly leaned against his locker. He pretended to check over his homework as Holle practically hovered over Zeborah gushing about something.

"So, how do you think I should do my hair?" Holle asked, holding out a strand of it. "Down, or maybe a half-pony?"

"I don't think it'd matter…" Zeborah trailed, fishing in her backpack for a pen. "Isn't your hair, like, alive anyway?"

"I guess we'll take care of that later," Holle hummed, brushing it off. "Now, my dress- should I go ball gown, or maybe something slimmer…"

"Holle," Zeborah laughed, turning around and smirking. "Why are you asking me all these questions?"

"Well, cuz…" Holle's hair expressively went flat, and Zeborah took a step back. "…you know more about…well…being approachable than I do…"

"…we're going to you-know-what tonight and you're worried about being approachable?" Zeborah asked, raising an eyebrow. Steelo perked up his ears as best he could.

"I was just trying to get a general idea…not like it's my kind of thing…" Holle mumbled, her hair still draped lifelessly over her shoulders. Zeborah smirked and put a hand on Holle's shoulder.

"Hey, we've got all day to figure this out. And even if we don't get what we're hoping for…we can at least try to have fun."

"That's pretty much all I'm asking," Holle huffed, her hair becoming lively again as she twirled her staff. "Do you think they'll have punch there?"

"If they do, I hope it's the kind with sherbet in it!" Zeborah hummed, and the two girls hurriedly rushed into their next class. Steelo simply lifted his face from his page and scowled.

"Well, THAT barely helped me out any…oh well." He closed his book with a satisfying slam and swaggered down the hall. "I bet I can weasel something useful out eventually…"

He then advanced toward Ninty, who was changing out the game in his handheld. Steelo hovered over him and grinned.

"Okay, Ninty! I had a thought after we talked last hour…"

"Oh, you did?" Ninty asked detachedly.

"Yes." Steelo leaned against the nearest locker once again and started spinning one of his silver Pokeballs on his finger. "In order to pull off this operation, we're going to need some technical know-how. The extent of my knowledge and yours is limited, and we're going to have to enlist some extra help…"

"Huh. I agree, but that depends on who you had in mind," Ninty murmured. Steelo adjusted his cap and grimaced.

"Well, we certainly can't get Connor in on this, and even between the two of us we can't persuade Dash. I've talked to him before, and while he pretends to be a villain, he's definitely got his heart set on being a hero one day…unless, you know, he cracks."

"But he's not neutral, is he?"

"No, not much. However, there is ONE person who's good with gadgets and _happens_ to be interested in the idea of neutrality…"

He flashed a white grin at the psychic, and Ninty instantly knew who he was trying to imply.

"Oh jeez, now you're just messing with me. Anyone but-"

"Hey, come on, this will work; she'll have no choice but to agree," Steelo insisted. "She can hack the system, we can get more intel, and we can finish forming our plan from there!"

"One morning of good luck and suddenly you're jumping the gun," Ninty mused, shutting his locker and starting to walk to class. "…you still never really told me why you were so into helping me…"

Steelo shrugged and sashayed into the classroom.

"I like to take advantage of opportunities, my friend."

**Second Period, Magic and Swordplay-**

Professor Ganondorf Dragmire was still a bit put off from the failed meeting earlier, but that was behind him now as he watched the students migrate into the room. Penelope was glugging a can of soda through a straw as she entered, making loud and obnoxious slurping noise as she gave Ganondorf a nod of acknowledgement.

"Ooh, that girl…"

Yet, the only one he truly despised was walking through that door at the moment, without an actual expression on his face.

Huh, he hadn't seen much from Connor in a month…

"Good day, students," Ganondorf began, rising and pacing the front of the classroom. "As we discussed yesterday, today we'll be finishing up our unit on Elemental Magic, and there _will_ be a test tomorrow."

"UUUUUGGGH…"

"Just hearing that makes me want to freeze myself," mumbled Peri to herself.

"Man, I failed the last one!" Dash exclaimed. "Magic is NOT my forte…!"

"That's because this class is catered to a clown," Connor said lowly, making Dash jump just from hearing his voice. "He cares not for those who don't think his way; for those who cannot do what he can…and he uses that to humiliate them."

Dash found himself sweating. "Uh, um, dude, I think you might be pushing this a bit far-"

"I am not!" Connor exclaimed, slamming his fists on his desk. "You look me in the eyes and tell me that this man does NOT cater towards one select group of students? How many students have magical powers, or even use swords as a weapon; let alone both?!"

"…what's wrong with using both?" Zeborah asked quietly, now that the entire class' attention was on Connor. Connor's gaze whipped toward Zeborah, and it softened just the slightest bit.

"…nothing's wrong with it; I'm just saying that not everyone is like that, and I feel a more diverse class would've have been a superior option-"

"_Superior_?" Ganondorf asked, thundering over to Connor's desk. "SUPERIOR!? Where do YOU get off calling any idea of yours superior to MINE?! Do you not know who I am?!"

"Unfortunately," Connor scoffed, now standing and only barely reaching Ganondorf's shoulder. "But at the very least, an alternative class should've been offered to better accommodate the diversity of the students-"

"What part of 'we're understaffed', 'we don't have the money', or 'what else could we teach' do you not understand, with your supposed IQ of 210?" Ganondorf wondered, the students snapping their gazes from their teacher to see how Connor would respond.

"Well gee, I was hoping that the great so-called Prince of Darkness, King of Thieves, Dark Lord Ganondorf could tell me, but I supposed he's too busy eclipsing students from what could be a valuable learning opportunity," Connor rebutted, and the student's looks shifted back to Ganondorf.

"Just because not all of you have powers or use a blade as a weapon doesn't mean this can't help you," Ganondorf insisted, his fists started to light on fire. "What do you do when your little science and technology proves worthless against one who wields magic and swords?"

"The odds of that happening in my world are exceedingly low, and after we graduate I don't exactly plan to leave often," Connor huffed.

"Calling me the selfish one, when you're only concerned about how this class doesn't benefit you!"

"Dad, just stop, please- this is pointless!" Zeborah exclaimed, stepping between them. "I know you've had your differences before, but-"

"-he's finally calling them out," Ganondorf growled, stepping closer to Connor.

Penji shrieked and pulled his hat far down over his head. "Wah, Peri, tell me when it's over!"

Ganondorf growled and slammed his fist on Steelo's desk, who merely blinked indifferently at the notion.

"Okay, Pop Quiz for you, Brainiac," Ganondorf growled, narrowing his eyes. Connor did the same in a challenging fashion. "Name the elements."

"Air, Water, Earth and Fire are the core four, but some count Light and Darkness and well," Connor replied without missing a beat.

Ganondorf sneered and carried on. "If someone came at you with a fire attack, what would the best defense be?"

"There are three," Connor answered, resisting the urge to smirk. "Douse the fire with a water counterattack, snuff it out with an earth attack, or use air to dodge."

Dash nudged Penji as he rapidly scribbled something on paper. "Hey, I think these questions will be on the test!"

Penji simply gawked. "This is not the time for notes…!"

"And if you had no access to water, earth or fire…show me how you would defend!" Ganondorf suddenly roared, lighting his hand on fire and flying at Connor with a Warlock Punch. The notion caught Connor terribly off guard, but before he could have his face burnt or pounded, Zeborah sprang onto his desk with her swords raised and lit in equally purple flames, deflecting the blow.

"Daddy, why are you doing this?!" she exclaimed, almost practically crying. She sniffled and turned her expression into a sneer, raising her swords in a defensive position. Ganondorf was beside himself, shaking with rage.

"Zeborah, sweetie…you know I don't ask for much," he began, shaking his head. "I have no choice in the way I act, being reincarnated evil…I'm forced to be reborn every hundred or so years to wreak havoc on those who've opposed me…but those who join me, or at the very least those who support my ideas, are spared…"

"But-"

"All I ask is for loyalty, for people to hear me out…my voice doesn't even carry on the winds of the arid desert we call home, for even some of my own people stand against me…"

"You're expecting a pity party that you don't deserve," Connor interrupted, fiddling with his gloves for some reason. Ganondorf turned from Zeborah to Connor and grunted, sounding like the primal roar of a wild boar.

"That arrogance…that bravado…that unwavering defiance! I hate people like you! And I hate that my daughter has taken interest in the likes of you!" he hissed, on the verge of insanity at this point. The majority of the other students had backed away to the far corners of the room a while back, but they were still watching with wide eyes. "…Goddesses above, the last person who challenged me with such ferocity was…was…"

"…was Mom…" Zeborah whispered, dropping her swords to the ground.

"Scheisee…!" Holle grimaced in German, with the rest of the class looking on.

"I should've known from the beginning that your mother and I couldn't last…" Ganondorf trailed, suddenly looking spacey. "After all, she'd been named after one of the Sages that had a hand in sealing me away long ago…"

"Nabooru…" Zeborah whimpered again.

"…but despite what she knew about me, she still wanted to take the risk, believing that everyone deserved a chance, whether they were good or evil. She stood by me in the beginning, and I respected her for that; loved her for it…and I thought I had finally found someone who understood me."

Zeborah bit her lip as she stepped off Connor's desk, with Connor looking absolutely astonished.

"…then why?" Zeborah asked, eyes shimmering. "…why'd she leave?"

Ganondorf finally paused from his delirious rant, heaving the heaviest sigh ever heard of from him.

"…it had nothing to do with you; I know that much," he murmured after the silence passed, shaking his head. "I guess she changed and I stayed the same; she saw just how consumed by evil I was, and no matter what she did, she couldn't help me…then we started arguing, fighting, and it got to be too much. She said enough was enough, and she packed up and left…I only got custody of you because of my high position."

Zeborah grimaced and turned away, with the majority of the class unsure of what to say.

"Well, that escalated quickly," Penelope murmured, only to be hit in the head with a pencil thrown by Holle.

"Well, jeez, you can't take that all out on me," Connor insisted, and Ganondorf snarled gutturally again.

"Who said I was?! I'm not some sad sap that needs a punching bag!" the Dark Lord growled, his hands lighting in flames again. "You're a constant hindrance to my teachings! I_ refuse_ to stand for it, and I _will_ make you pay!"

Ganondorf ran forward again, with Zeborah reaching for her swords on the ground, but Ganondorf had pushed her out of the way and lunged at Connor. Connor was ready this time, twisting something around his wrist and raising his hand.

The normally dark room suddenly burst with light, a fusion of purple and white that forced the class to avert their eyes from it. When the light died down, all that remained of the scene was a sparking Ganondorf lying on the floor in a daze, and Connor still in a defensive position, with his gloves flickering with electricity.

Naturally, everyone was slackjawed.

"…_how_?!" Dash barely managed to squeak out. It took Connor a while to register the question, but when he did, he turned the dial around his wrist again, and the electric charge of his gloves vanished.

"I was sick of being relentlessly harassed for not having any powers…" Connor trailed, staring at the ground. "So I built these Elemental Glove Gauntlets, or EGG for short, to even the playing field…I have access to every element which are controlled by the dials on my wrists, and with them…I was easily able to counter Professor Dragmire's attack."

Everyone was sort of stuck in awe, until Zeborah of all people started laughing.

"Ha ha ha ha! He totally didn't see it coming!" Zeborah giggled, and Connor smiled a bit. "It's almost as funny as when you blasted him with chocolate in the CAVAW…!"

"Wh-what?!" Peri stammered, sounding appalled but also slightly amused. "When did that happen…?"

"On the first day!" laughed Penji against his better judgment. "It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen!"

"And Connor did that?" Ryker asked, with Holle nodding eagerly.

"It was definitely ace. You should've been there!"

Ninty simply sat on his desk and blew a raspberry as the rest of the class was consumed in laughter, forgetting the heaviness of the debate that went down before them and replacing it with the memory of a simpler time.

Even Connor was in a slightly better mood, though something still appeared to be bothering him. He glanced over to Zeborah, who was laughing really hard next to Junior. He awkwardly twiddled his thumbs until Zeborah took note of him and flounced over.

"Hi, guy. Who would've thought that beating up a teacher would get you so energetic?" Zeborah hummed, twirling a finger around her ponytail. Connor chuckled nervously before grimacing.

"Yeah…uh…sorry about electrocuting your dad…"

Zeborah just shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it; he was totally asking for it…he'll be fine, and I'm just glad that you are too."

"I suppose, but…" He cast his eyes down and looked away. "…are you okay? I mean, the whole class knows about what went down between your parents-"

"Yeah I'm okay," Zeborah answered quickly, glancing down too. "It was a lot to take, cuz most of that_ I_ didn't even know…but I'll sulk later. Do you want to know why?"

Connor raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why?"

"Well, ya see, there's this dance later, and I was wondering if you'd-"

She was suddenly interrupted by Penelope opening her big mouth, and it was in the same moment that Connor seemed to shut down.

"I just wanted to say that I appreciate what you did, Connor," Penelope tisked, pulling a cookie out of a pocket of her orange overalls. "I get tired of hearing him rant on and on about magic all day. Science is where it's at!"

"…yes, I agree," Connor responded, the emotion in his voice gone. "…and with my intellect, I will use every in my power to put it toward a better cause…a cause that will drastically change the world!"

"…Connor?" Zeborah asked quietly, but he was no longer listening to her…or apparently Penelope.

"…there's a problem with being so incredibly smart," Connor rambled, with Zeborah looking upset and Penelope appearing rather disinterested. Zeborah wondered why she'd interrupted in the first place. "…and that's the fact that people rarely know what to do with such intelligence."

"…that is GREAT and all, but I actually wanted to know more about those EGGs of yours," Penelope coughed, finishing up the cookie and brushing away the crumbs off her orange overalls. "Such technology would pay a hefty price, if sold to the right people…"

Zeborah was about to lash out with a few choice words of her own, but Connor suddenly sprang toward Penelope, twisting the dial on his right EGG and punching the floor. The once relatively calm atmosphere of the room was shattered again when the earthquake rocked the entire room, if not the whole school. Penelope was knocked to the ground at once, with Connor pulling the remote to the CAVAW out of his sleeve and aiming it at her.

"You sniveling, conniving weasel…leeching off the work of others to climb your way to the top…unfortunately, I don't roll that way, and I don't appreciate that you've imposed your methods unto me," Connor grumbled, narrowing his eyes. Penelope just rolled her eyes and pulled out the remote to her Dragonfly Mech.

"Psh, whatever, I don't need it anyway- I was even thinking of sliding you a cut of the profit, but you can forget it now," Penelope scoffed.

The two were now pointing their remotes at each other in a standoff, and as Zeborah was silently kicking herself for not getting to Connor sooner, the bell had rung. Everyone rushed to pile out for their next class, jumping over Ganondorf who was groaning to himself on the floor. Connor simply grunted and finally lowered his remote, and Penelope did the same as well, picking herself up. She was the last one out the door, having to gather her things in a hurry and trudge to the hall…

…but when she reached the hall, Steelo was waiting for her.

**Second Hour, Heroic History-**

"…so yeah, he totally rejected me!" Angelina was in the middle of exclaiming to Pink, Tenn, and Lulu, who were trying their best to pay attention. "I mean, who wouldn't want to go with me to a dance? The nerve of Damien… being all 'I'd rather just go with my friends'! That's the cheap way out, I say."

Pink rubbed her temples, as Angelina's gossip was the first thing they'd all been forced to endure when they stepped into their history class, and while history was certainly not an entirely engaging subject (unless Kirby was teaching), they would've much rather been hearing about that instead of Angelina's boy troubles.

"Who needs a date anyway?" scoffed Tenn, blowing a large pink bubble from the gum she was chewing. "The stress of trying to find a date can ruin the experience of the dance. Just go and enjoy yourself, even if you're by yourself!"

"But being alone…I can't have fun like that!" whimpered Pink. "That's why I wanted to find a date right away…"

Tenn didn't fail to notice Pink's eyes dart quickly in Purple's direction, but she didn't call her out on it.

"…things didn't go quite as planned though, but it'll be fun anyway," Pink finished, putting on a smile.

"I was just going to go with the guys," Lulu shrugged, gesturing over to where Marcus and Skippy were throwing paper planes at each other. "They're so immature…but I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather be with."

"Gah, well, I can scratch Damien, Coby, Junichi, Purple, Luke, Marcus, and Skippy off the list…" Angelina sighed dramatically. She then turned around in her seat to find any remaining guy with a pulse. "…YO STARLOS!"

Starlos, who had fallen asleep while waiting for Kirby on the other side of the room, snapped to attention.

"You wanna go to the dance with me?!"

"…sure?" Starlos replied, sounding a bit confused. "Why not?"

Angelina nodded contently and turned back around in her seat, folding her arms.

"Yup, problem solved!"

Lulu rolled her eyes, Pink sighed, and Tenn simply smacked her forehead.

Meanwhile, when Starlos had finally registered what had happened, he smirked and nudged Purple from across the aisle.

"Well, well, well…guess I've got the ladies throwing themselves at me after all," the star-like kid snickered, to which Purple nearly broke his pencil with how tightly he was clenching it.

"Dude, that's only because no one wanted to go with Angelina," he hissed, sticking out his tongue. "She talks too much."

"Oh, but Pink's chatterbox tendencies are _perfectly_ acceptable," Starlos scoffed indignantly. "Tell it to someone WITHOUT a date- which isn't me!"

"Okay, first off, Pink is extremely extroverted- she NEEDS contact with other people. Angelina's just a girly teen gossip. There's a difference," Purple insisted, going on the defensive. "And second, I don't want to ask Pink by shouting across the freaking room- I want to do something with a little more tact."

"I'm still loving all this last minute planning-"

"Shut UP! I'm not good at this!" Purple grunted, planting his face onto his desk. Alph, sitting in front of him, turned around and gaped at Starlos.

"Uh…what's wrong with him?"

"Growing pains," sneered Starlos, shaking his head with disappointment.

Meanwhile, Coby was standing guard at the door, keeping an eye out for Kirby (who was strangely late) as his group was hurriedly finishing their homework. Well, everyone minus Damien- and Damien refused to share answers.

"The only way to learn is to learn it for yourself," Damien had persisted, and Zelda rolled her eyes as she scribbled on her paper.

"For the love of Din, I don't know what happened with the Ylissean War! Didn't they win, maybe…something about Emmeryn…Gods, I don't know!"

"That world's timeline moves so fast that history happens every minute!" Elysia exclaimed. "Anyone know the answer to the Scared Stones question…?"

"I want to know about this Path of Radiance," sighed Junichi, his ears drooping as his eyes turned light blue. "Oh, this is so hard…!

"Uh, do you guys need help?"

Elysia, Junichi, and Coby whipped around to face Luke, who had completed his homework promptly.

"I know there's a lot of content in his unit, but it's easy to remember if you study in a meticulous manner," Luke explained. "I've already covered the section on the Shadow Dragon and the Fell Dragon Grima, but-"

"Say, can you help me out with number nine?" Zelda asked instantly. Luke took a look at it and blinked.

"Well, that answer's correct-"

"See, I _knew_ that; I just wanted a second opinion," Zelda sniffed, glaring at Damien. "It's nice to know that someone is gentlemanly enough to help out a lady-"

"I _was_ helping you out!" insisted Damien. "Giving you free answers does NOT help you in the end!"

"It helps me get this ridiculous homework done," Zelda scoffed. "Thanks again, Luke- you're one smart cookie!"

Luke just scratched the back of his head. "It's nothing, really…"

He continued to help the trio with less obvious responses, which managed to gain Damien's approval, and this carried on until Coby hurried into his seat. Everyone scrambled back into proper position; Kirby walked in the door looking like he'd seen better days.

"You okay there, Kirb?" Coby asked, upon seeing his mentor in a bit of a rugged state. Kirby smiled and nodded, leaping up and sitting on his desk.

"Yeah, I was just sorting through the decorations for the dance tonight…the theme is AWESOME!" he giggled, but then became serious. "Anyway, we've still got work to do. Everyone, turn in your assignments from yesterday- I'll have them graded by Monday. Maybe. I hate grading…"

"Then why give us so much homework?" scoffed Marcus as he passed his page forward.

Zelda quickly filled in the rest of her paper before flinging it in Coby's direction, who then gave it to Kirby. When Kirby collected them all, he instructed everyone to open their books to page 103.

"We'll pick up right where we left off," Kirby began, putting on his glasses. "Now, Skippy, please read the first paragraph-"

"HOLD IT!"

Kirby blinked and turned to Alph with his hand in the air, much to the relief of Skippy.

"Yes, Alph?"

"Princess Peach earlier was talking about the Ten Essences of the Universe…" Alph began, poking his fingers together. "…and she said it had something to with Big Crash that you talked about before, but she also said that you knew more about it than her…"

The glasses slid down Kirby's nonexistent nose as he closed his book in a single snap. "…so she got you all interested in that, huh?"

"Actually, she was more focused on the Essence of Love more than anything, but-" Lulu started to explain, but Kirby cut her off.

"Of course _she_ would," Kirby scoffed. "…but yeah, they had something to do with the universe almost crashing. I take it you want to hear the legend?"

"I would very much like that," Damien hummed, and the class murmured in agreement. Thus, Kirby clapped his hands, and the lights in the room proceeded to dim.

"Yes- I love when the lights dim!" whooped Starlos.

Marcus and Skippy traded a high five as smoke started filling the room and Kirby illuminated his face with his storytelling flashlight.

"This is but one of the many legends of which they speak…" Kirby began, and Zelda had to cough. "…in the beginning, the universe was nothing more than, well, nothing. A bunch of stars scattered among an endless plane of space…but with no worlds. The universe was empty and lifeless, until one day, something extraordinary happened…"

A loud boom reverberated in the class room, and Meta Knight, who was walking outside of the door, simply shook his head.

"Must be story time again…" he grumbled to himself, although curiosity did get the best of him and he cracked Kirby's door open and took a look inside.

"Out of seemingly nowhere, a single planet had taken shape in the center of universe, born purely out of the Ten Essences of the Universe…no one is absolutely positive as to just how it happened, but it was the first planet in the entire universe, and its purpose was to keep life maintained in the universe, hence the arrival of so many new worlds…thus, it came to be known as the Origin Point."

"OOooooh," the class went, just as Meta Knight slunk in the door and crept along the walls of the room.

"Life was small, but gradually, over time, world after world kept appearing, one arriving right after another…and at first it was great, seeing life rapidly filling the universe. Best of all, all the residents of the worlds were free to teleport wherever they wanted and whenever they wanted, and it truly felt like the universe was just one big happy family…"

Kirby's flashlight went out, causing Skippy to scream in terror and freaking Junichi out with an eye color change to a strange shade of brown.

"…but naturally, happiness in paradise doesn't last," Kirby sighed, shaking his head. "The rapid appearance of worlds across the universe eventually caused an…overcrowding, which made people go a little nuts. And if that wasn't enough, the quality of all the new worlds were steadily dropping down, becoming places so uninhabitable you couldn't even _look_ at them… The mass teleporting also had some dangerously disastrous results- the mass warping of space and time created multiple versions of places _and_ people, and no one could tell who was truly who!"

"Wow, I never knew THAT…" Pink whispered, eyes going wide. Meta Knight took a seat in the back and listened quietly, eyes going pink with bemusement.

"And that's…when the crash began," Kirby sighed, and the room started to quake as the pink puffball jumped on his desk and went into theatrics. "The universe darn nearly imploded on itself, no longer stable enough to handle all the worlds or all the different versions of its people. Logic, Rhythm, Reason, and Truth were thrown out the window instantly, with black holes opening up everywhere, taking down the newer worlds first and working their way in, sucking up every unstable planet in the process. In a few years' time, the whole universe would have been engulfed, ending off with the place it all began, and nothing would have been left…"

The class was left in suspended silence, knowing that it hadn't turned out that way, but realizing how close they were…

Yow.

"…is that when Mario saved everyone?" Junichi asked quietly, with all the students turning to Kirby looking for confirmation. Kirby eventually nodded, but it was solemn instead of hopeful.

"…he really hates talking about it," Kirby murmured, poking his hands together. "A little before the crash, he was just a plumber with his brother Luigi; nothing really noteworthy…until the instability of the worlds caused them to get dragged into the Mushroom World."

"So, Mario and Luigi don't even originate from the Mushroom Kingdom?" Coby asked, and Kirby waved his hand.

"…no, they don't," Kirby explained quietly and almost a little too vaguely. "But the point is, that first adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom wasn't just to take down King Koopa and save Princess Toadstool…no, there was much more to it…

"You see, it was rumored that Peach was the only person in the entire universe that could stop the Big Crash, but just when it started, she was kidnapped by Bowser and forced to work her magic, but she could do nothing so long as she was captured. Two years passed after that, with the universe on the brink of destruction…and finally, it was then when Mario arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom. He vowed to go after her, which he did with vigor. The moment Peach was freed, word had spread fast, and all the remaining worlds knew about it, their excitement radiating as pure hope and love that Peach could feel. That manifested into her Heart Power, which she used to fend off the last of the Crash, proving that the universe didn't deserve to die. Eventually, the Crash stopped…and the universe was slowly rebuilt with better worlds and a better restriction on teleporting _between _the worlds.

"However…two things happened on the Origin Point after that. At the expense of rebuilding the universe, the planet's inner core split into two- The Harmony Core, representing an idealistic way of life, and the Discipline Core, representing a realistic take on the universe. As a price to pay for the preservation of existence, everyone and everything was divided into two sides…a division of harmony and discipline. This division eventually manifested into Order and Chaos…and eventually, into good and evil."

"…oh," hummed Angelina, clearly astonished.

"The other thing that happened was that the four balances vanished from the Origin Point and scattered across the universe, manifesting themselves into new homes as each new world slowly and carefully came into existence. The essences were also split, but in a different way- each essence manifested in the form of an object, with the collective objects becoming the Essence Relics, and each of them is guarded by a designated vessel. In this way, the universe has managed to stay stable, and while the threat of another crash is always on the horizon…I think we'd make it through okay."

The students tried their hardest to soak in all this information at once, with Luke even furiously scribbling down anything of relevance that was said. After Kirby stopped to devour a brownie, someone finally raised their hand, and Kirby called on them.

"Yes…" Meta Knight began, his sudden presence causing Kirby to choke on his brownie. "I just wanted to know why the students hadn't learned any of this earlier…?"

Kirby blinked and poked his hands together. "B-Because, that's just a simple legend…a _true_ one, but not much experience can be derived from it, ya know-"

"Oh? I would think that particular experience would be _most_ valuable, especially considering that this school is built _on_ the Origin Point," Meta Knight said casually enough, and the class appeared surprised.

"…really?" asked Zelda, raising an eyebrow.

"I actually just thought this was some random planet in the middle of nowhere," Marcus announced with his arm raised. "No. freaking. Clue."

"Furthermore, you've said yourself that to be a hero now, it's best to study the heroes of the past," Meta Knight continued. "I figured since you yourself are one of those _vessels_ you mentioned earlier, you'd be much more eager to elaborate on the subject."

Kirby frowned and turned away from Meta Knight. "You weren't there…you don't know how hard it all was…none of us like talking about it; it puts us way too much in over our heads…"

The students all exchanged glances until Elysia finally spoke up. "Um…is there something we should know?"

"Well, I guess I _should _tell you that the story lasted the entire hour, but with the dance later, I didn't entirely feel like teaching anyway," Kirby stated, smiling again. "But, yeah…that stuff about the Origin Point? I wouldn't ask anyone else about it. It's a really touchy subject. I only told about it cuz I'm the history teacher and Peach pawned it off on me."

"…does any of this have anything to do with why she was crying this morning?" Junichi asked instantly, and everyone instantly gasped in his directly. "…what?! What?! I didn't know it was a secret!"

Kirby bit his lip. "…I wouldn't know, but like I said, just don't bring it up."

Meta Knight curled himself up into his cape and cast his gaze at the ground, but Kirby smiled again and bounced to the floor.

"No need to look so glum, though! Life goes on, and we should all just be blessed to be here! We've got an awesome dance later too, and it won't be any fun if we're all mopey!"

"…we don't even know why they're so sensitive on the subject," Tenn whispered to Lulu.

Meta Knight turned heel and headed out the door just as the bell rang, and all the students followed suit. Kirby watched them all go out with a forced smile, then sighed heavily and plopped onto the floor once they were gone.

"Man…" he murmured, taking out a piece of candy and gnawing on it. "…growing up _sucks_."

**After Second Hour-**

Meta Knight had vanished almost instantly, even though Coby had something to ask him. The orange puffball frowned at his other mentor's disappearance, but he figured he'd see him later.

"Wow, there's so much about the previous generation that we don't even know about," Elysia stated, carefully putting her books away.

"I just want to know what happened that made them not want to speak of it," stated Zelda.

"Regardless, we should respect their wishes and not pester anyone else about this, taking into account their feelings," Damien stated, and everyone couldn't help but agree. The prince nodded firmly and shut his locker, turning around with a dignified air about him.

…and came face to face with _the girl_ again.

She hadn't run away instantly this time, so Damien was able to see that she was wearing a dress colored in various reds, oranges, and yellows, and she was still covering most of her face with a fan. Her blue eyes peered over the fan, but as soon as Damien took a step toward her, she bolted again, moving so fast that she nearly left a fiery skid mark on the floor.

"…did you all see her?!" Damien cried, alerting Elysia and Zelda instantly. They whirled around to witness whatever Damien was pointing at so frantically, but as she was gone, they were met with nothing.

"…Damien? You catching a case of the Royal Madness?" Zelda sneered, and Damien swatted his hand at her.

"NO. That's the second time I've seen that girl today…but she moves so fast…" Damien trailed, simply looking on.

"Well, aren't you pretty speedy yourself?" asked Elysia, absentmindedly chewing on the end of her pencil. "Just chase her next time!"

"I…I guess I could try," Damien shrugged. "Can't even move toward her without her running away…"

"I still say she doesn't exist," Zelda huffed, slinging her sword over her shoulder and marching away. Elysia just shrugged and followed after her, leaving Damien to ponder over his situation quietly.

These strange things needed to stop.


	4. Behind Closed Doors

**Guest: **Thank you for giving it a chance, then! Glad you're enjoying it so! And actually, I wasn't going to do the dance (because that's so predictable XD) but I needed more character development, so I rolled with the idea. Anyway, hope you keep having fun with the story; lotsa big things are ahead!

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 4: Behind Closed Doors

**Before Third Period-**

"Darcy…" Dash Bowman asked, grabbing his science book out of his bag and reaching for his calculator. "Do you ever feel like something big is going on and you're not a part of it?"

Darcy shrugged, leaning up against her own locker and twirling her rifle around her finger.

"In the grand scope of things, yeah I guess, but I assume you mean a smaller scale, so…I can't give an answer."

Dash just shrugged, looking around the hall at the other students, where Peri, Holle, and Zeborah were discussing something in great detail while Steelo and Ninty had Penelope cornered and were explaining something serious to her. Darcy caught his gaze and shook her head.

"If you're worried about what all these morons are muttering about, you're wasting your time," she finally said disdainfully. "It's a waste of your energy."

"Well sheesh," Dash scoffed, gritting his teeth. "I just wanted to be in the loop. With all this whispering happening, there's no doubt something is going down…"

Darcy just stuck out her tongue and marched off to class, with Dash's tail twitching in confusion before he followed suit.

"…and I was really close to asking him while he was normal, but then Penelope butted in and he got all spacey again," Zeborah explained dejectedly, clearing up what had happened with Connor last hour. Holle just tisked and folded her arms.

"Well, at least we know he's not completely gone…I just want to know why he spewing all that mumbo jumbo about his compulsion on taking over the world? Er, his world?"

"I don't know," Zeborah winced, sagging her whole body. "I just…want him back to normal."

"What if it's some sort of medical condition?" Peri asked. "There are many personality disorders, and sometimes the symptoms take a while to show up in people."

"What I never understood was how you could have a 'disorder' in your personality," Holle huffed, but she shrugged. "Still, you may be onto something…"

Zeborah winced and glanced over at Connor, the soulless look back in his eyes as he took his CAT from his locker. Without even a blink, he whirled away and shut the door in the same move, marching into his uncle's room.

"…Gods, I hope you're wrong."

"Well, what else would you want it to be?" Holle asked, before whisking herself into the room as well.

**Third Period, Science and Technology-**

Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik was actually thoroughly shaken up by what had gone down at the meeting that preceded school that day.

When King Dedede initially proposed the idea for a school of future villains that could rival the school of new heroes, Eggman had been one of the first on board with the idea. Where villains had countlessly failed dozens of times before, the school provided a glimmer of hope that a new generation wouldn't fail…as hard, anyway.

But after being exploited by Tabuu, on the first day no less, and being confronted with the fact that hardly any of the students were truly committed to learning anymore…he was beginning to wonder whether or not it was such a good idea after all. But then, thoughts of his great nephew one day taking over the world, or even other worlds, returned to his head and the fire was lit again.

However, even Connor wasn't one hundred percent anymore…and now Eggman was officially worried.

He noted that Steelo, Ninty, and Penelope glided in together, with Dash looking super-suspicious and Darcy indifferent, and everyone else whispering quietly amongst themselves. Connor had taken his seat long ago, fiddling meticulously with several documents of information on his Compressible Assistant Tablet. Eggman watched him quietly before calling out his name.

It was several seconds before Connor fully responded.

"Yes, Uncle?"

"I've been hearing some…interesting things about you, lately," Eggman began right away. He was never one to string things along. "Is there anything you wish to talk to me about?"

Eggman saw Connor's eyes soften a bit, but he quickly returned to his CAT and shook his head.

"There is nothing to speak of, Uncle. But your concern…is appreciated."

Eggman cringed. There WAS something wrong…but he wasn't about to cause a scene in front of everyone.

"Ahem, moving on…" Eggman announced, rising from his seat and adjusting his collar. "You all are aware of your assignments for today; finish up your presentation with your groups, and we will begin presenting on Monday. Remember, you get extra credit for extra effort!"

Unanimous groans, but everyone eventually drifted into their chosen groups.

Dash and Darcy were naturally a duo, with Dash still meticulously keeping an eye on everyone. Peri and Penji quickly got to work with their ice-related project, Holle headed over to Ryker (as she'd been the only one to willingly be his partner), Junior, Zeborah, and Connor were their usual iconic trio, and Penelope had been solo, but today she was suddenly over at Steelo and Ninty's table.

"…So let me get this straight," Penelope began, setting up her custom laptop and booting it up. "You two need my help to hack into Villain Prep AND Hero High's mainframes to look for info on the location of the Discipline and Harmony Cores?"

"Not so loud, you obnoxious blabbermouth!" Ninty hissed, actually away from his game for once. Steelo pushed Ninty out of the way and nodded.

"Yes, that's the gist of it," he replied, adjusting his silver tie. "We've been listening in on the teachers for weeks now…looking for an advantage toward the plan we wish to execute."

Steelo held up a small SD Card of data between his fingers and grinned at Penelope.

"Got a month's load of information right here…and finally, today, I have what I need."

"I don't know," Penelope scoffed, chomping loudly on her gum and irritating Ninty to no end. "You want me to waste valuable time that I could be using the finish the project I haven't started yet to look for information that might not even BE there?"

"Hey, Ninty and I finished our project days ago," Steelo explained. "We'll let you slap your name on it if you just do this one thing for us…"

"That IS tempting," Penelope pondered, twirling a finger around her pigtails as Ninty gaped at Steelo's offer. "…well, if I do this one thing, I want in on the bigger fish, if you know what I mean."

Ninty's eyes bulged. "…you want in on the master plan too?!"

"Why not? So far, it sounds like you've got a decently competent plan here," Penelope shrugged. Steelo flashed his grin.

"That's because we're not wasting time being flashy, overambitious, or grandiose with our plans…it's just a straight shot multipoint plan that we will follow exactly with as little deterrence as possible," he explained, before holding out his hand. "This may not be the only time we require your expertise, so if you're interested in joining our little group…I'll accept it."

Penelope finally smirked and firmly shook Steelo's hand; Steelo afterwards took a bottle of sanitizer out of his vest pocket and quickly applied it out of sight as Ninty rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, let's see if Penelope can hold her own," Ninty huffed, now hovering over Penelope's shoulder as she finished typing in her password. Steelo leaned over to see as well, and next thing they knew, Penelope cracked her knuckles and grinned.

"Elevate keyboard, Access Command 42 Version 2.3."

Steelo and Ninty blinked as a virtual version of Penelope's keyboard came into view, along with some software booting up.

"Touch Screen Commands Activate," Penelope said next, and as she typed some things on the virtual keyboard, she was swiping things across the screen. Steelo whistled.

"Virtual keyboards, voice commands, touch screens…I'm impressed."

"Yeah, well, it's no CAT, but it still can rival Connor's junk," Penelope murmured disdainfully. Steelo raised an eyebrow at this.

"…are you sore about what he said to you last hour?"

"No," Penelope huffed, punching in an access code. "…but all I wanted was just to _look_ at it. Me buying his stuff was just a joke- I don't want that useless low tech anyway."

"…not to mention all that nonsense he was spewing about him and only him being able to take over the world," Steelo added haughtily, and this caught Penelope's interest. "Such an ambition is misplaced, I believe…all that energy of his could be used for a far more practical cause, but he's already made his stance on things…"

"I suppose he has," Penelope stated thinly, down casting her eyes. Steelo pulled up a chair and sat next to her.

"But you, Penelope…your intelligence hasn't been tainted by a maddening drive to do that which is pointless…you could put your skills to a much worthier goal…"

It was then that Penelope finished loading up a Mainframe Hacking Software, with Ninty raising an eyebrow and Steelo smirking. Penelope hit some buttons and tapped some things at a furious pace, eventually pulling up Hero High's mainframe.

"Why'd you do Hero High first?" Ninty asked snobbishly.

"Because, remember when Connor broke into Hero High's files to see who was playing on the Power Ball team?" Penelope asked. "He revealed what the passwords were and I bookmarked them."

"Impressive again, Penny," Steelo hummed, although Ninty looked perplexed.

"…but that means we don't know what Villain Prep's password is," the male psychic realized. "…do we even have one?"

"I'm certain of it," Penelope confirmed as she casually scrolled through Hero High's most encrypted files. "After all, with Doctor Robotnik here, there's no way he wouldn't have rigged something up…"

"But how are we going to figure out Villain Prep's password…?" Steelo pondered, pulling his cap over his face in thought. "The only one who would most likely know or be able to find out would be Junior or Connor, and we can't ask them for obvious reasons…"

"We'll figure it out later," Penelope sneered, pointing at the screen. "Here, I think I found what you're looking for in Hero High-"

Ninty nearly shoved Penelope out of the way to get a closer look while Steelo lifted his hat out of his eyes to see too.

The file's name was "Harmony Vault", and it contained paragraph after paragraph depicting a certain door in Hero High that heavily guarded the Harmony Core, along with very few photos of it. It explained that the Harmony Vault was located directly beneath the Janitor's Closet in Hero High, and through a security hall. It also said that there were only two ways to open it- through a combined DNA check of all five members of Team Mario…or via using the Master Charm, which was only to be used in emergencies.

"Well, there's no way we can trick Mario, Link, Sonic, Kirby, AND Samus into opening the vault, let alone sneak into Tails' inner workings," Ninty huffed.

"Psh, we can sneak into his little workshop easy," Steelo scoffed, looking closely at the vault's pictures. "But the true trick will be locating this Master Charm…"

"It says that only one sole person is in possession of it," Penelope read as she popped another piece of gum in her mouth. "I can bypass Tails' systems with the use of one of my viruses, but it doesn't say who owns the Master Charm…"

"It's probably Tails himself!" Ninty exclaimed. "Who else would it be?"

"Nah, that's far too obvious- giving the tech guy the Master Charm…" Steelo pondered, shaking his head. "No…it has to be someone who'd be able to fly under the radar- someone that even very few heroes would know of…"

"But then it would still probably have to be someone close to at least one member of Team Mario," added Ninty, scratching his head under his beanie. "Grah, so much for this being easy…the odds of us sneaking into Hero High to investigate this successfully anyway are slim…"

Penelope scrolled down more and smirked. "Ah, not necessarily…"

She gestured to a certain article containing information on a dance that was occurring…at eight o'clock that night, held at Hero High.

And it was a masquerade.

Steelo smirked, suddenly getting an idea as to what Zeborah and Holle had been discussing earlier.

"Guess we just found our ticket in, guys…"

Meanwhile, Peri was eagerly looking up information while Penji was writing it down and organizing it. They were working systematically, but eventually, Penji's mind ended up drifting off elsewhere.

"And then, after the section on freezing your opponent, throw in something about computers and we'll get extra credit-" Peri rambled, adjusting her glasses. But when she failed to hear the scribbling of Penji's pencil, she turned to look at her friend and found him daydreaming. "Um, Pen? Are you listening…?"

Penji snapped out of it and quickly started scribbling random things on the sheet.

"Yes, ma'am!" he squeaked, barely even realizing what he was doing. Peri raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, what you just wrote down has absolutely nothing to do with applying ice to evil plots. What's on your mind, kiddo?"

Penji nervously wrung his hands together. "It's nothing…my mind was just drifting back to this morning's conversation before school, that's all…"

Peri cringed and bit her lip. "Oh jeez, was it about my insensitivity?!"

"No, no, of course not!" Penji clarified immediately, shaking his head. "I just…I mean…I'm not…like everyone else here."

"…we know that, Penji," Peri explained quietly. "But we all respect you just the same."

Penji grabbed the edges of his hat and pulled them far over his head. "Nah, nah…! I was actually thinking about Coby…"

"Coby?" Peri asked, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "Huh…he's the, uh, orange blob thing, right?"

"Yes," replied Penji, revealing his face again. "We…used to be friends, long ago. I remember in his early days, when his training first started out, he used to sneak away and hang out with me all the time!"

"You don't say," Peri hummed, listening intently.

"Yeah, but all that was before I was adopted," Penji sighed. "Once Pa took me on…we were prevented from seeing each other. Kirby and Meta Knight didn't want Coby to have anything to do with my Pa…and my Pa wanted me to have nothing to do with the Star Warriors."

"But…what did Coby think about all that?" Peri asked. Penji turned to her and shrugged.

"…I couldn't tell you. The last time we even conversed was when we fought on the first day, and while it seemed like he was fully against me…he had his mask over his face, so I couldn't tell what his expression looked like…guess I'll never know now."

Penji went back to fixing the scribbles he made, with Peri watching him quietly. Usually, it was him that was worrying about her, but now…it was the other way around.

On the other side of the room, Dash was scoping everyone out, his ears twitching anxiously. Darcy was gnawing on her pencil and scrolling through the project they'd finished yesterday, now simply proof reading it.

"Dash, why are you so paranoid?" she asked, not even looking at him. "That's my thing, remember?"

"No…" Dash huffed, his eyes darting all around the room. "I can't shake this feeling…that something's going on!"

"Then shake it off!" Darcy exclaimed as she pounded her fists on the desk. "I am NOT putting up with you being twitchy all day, darn it! Either get it out of you system or take it somewhere else!"

Dash narrowed his eyes and stared darkly at Darcy before looking away. "…am I not allowed to be paranoid?"

"Why should you be?" Darcy replied, examining the pencil she was so diligently chewing on. Dash stared daggers into his desk.

"…all my life, I've valued my grandfather Andross' ambitions and aspirations…the way he went about them wasn't ideal, but overall, he meant well. He honestly wanted Lylat to be a better place…but so did Team Star Fox, who I've always looked up to and wanted to join so bad…"

"I wouldn't be caught dead with those low-life deadbeats," Darcy insisted, suddenly breaking the pencil in her hand. Dash shook his head.

"But I thought that if I joined them, and also followed my grandfather's wishes with a better plan…that maybe Lylat really could be a better place…but then Marcus was born, and any hopes I had of being a member vanished with the arrival of Marcus' inheritance of the team."

He stared blankly forward, his tail drooping depressed to the ground.

"And now…I don't know what I should do. I'm not even sure what I'm really doing in the school right now." He leaned forward and grabbed his head. "I don't want to chase dreams I'll never realize…but I don't want to resort to evil ways to get what I want either! I hate not knowing, I hate being in the dark …"

"But, hey…" Darcy trailed, softening the slightest bit and raising an eyebrow. "…what's wrong with joining me in Star Wolf?"

Dash shook his head. "I know you've had your heart set on that, but what if…I won't be happy there? What is it exactly that you plan to do with your life, Darcy?"

Darcy was struck speechless.

"Don't tell me that you haven't thought about it," huffed Dash. "What, do you just plan on following around Marcus McCloud for all your life?"

"NO!" Darcy snarled, suddenly offended. She dug her claws into the table and bared her fangs. "You are SO lucky we finished our project early, because I'm tired of listening to you today!"

"Like you've never had a bad day," Dash huffed. "Remember when your arm was broken and you threw a day long temper tantrum that only resulted in it getting broken again? Yeah, you're the epitome of maturity, Darcy."

Darcy sneered and yanked her computer to the other side of the table, exasperated beyond belief and pouring all of her attention into editing the presentation. Normally, Darcy would've yelled and screamed and shot some warning shots form her laser rifle, but not this time, and while Dash was slightly concerned at the lack of reaction, he said nothing and tried to collect his thoughts.

Not too far from them, Holle and Ryker were simply sitting in their seats doing nothing, as neither of them really wanted to do the assignment, and opted to just waste time instead.

But today, wasting time wasn't on Holle's agenda.

"So…Ryker, what's up?" Holle asked casually enough, resting her head on her palms and leaning forward. "You're just so quiet and…silent over there, you know."

"I have nothing to say," Ryker rumbled, not even facing her. Holle made a face and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Sure, but you know you can always talk to me, right?" Holle said lightly enough. "And, um, there IS a bit of a pressing issue I'd like to discuss with you…"

"I'm listening," Ryker responded, his blistering orange eyes darting in her direction. Holle winced and tried to get her words together.

"Well, um, you see…Zeborah discovered a certain event that's happening tonight, and I just wanted to know if you'd like to come with me," she finally said coolly enough. Ryker's expression didn't change.

"And what is this 'event' you speak of?"

Holle hesitated again. "…maybe it's a…oh, I don't know…a dance?"

Ryker was not amused.

"A…dance?"

"I know it's not your thing, but I was thinking we could just go for heck of it, bitte?" Holle flashed a toothy grin. "Come on, new experiences, a chance to get out more…?"

Ryker was heavily disinterested, but he eventually rolled his eyes.

"I'll see what I can do," he finally huffed after keeping Holle suspended in suspense for the longest time. When it finally registered what he had said, she instantly celebrated.

"Danke, danke, danke!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "That's WAY better than a no!"

"But it's not a yes," Ryker huffed. "Maybe I've got more important things planned for tonight."

"Oh ha, like anything could be better than hanging out with the Goddess of the Afterlife," Holle snickered.

"Getting my hands on Elysia is definitely better than that," grunted Ryker, and Holle winced again.

"Gods, you know that getting rid of her won't bring your parents back, right…?"

"Of course I know that," Ryker spat, the long thin spikes on his back suddenly standing on end. "But this is the only way I can get true closure…!"

"A life for another is not how it should work, Ryker," Holle said seriously, her expression darkening and Ryker raising an eyebrow. "As the judger of people's souls, I know that better than anybody…"

"Hey, if you're the Soul Judger or whatever, how come you're at school instead of doing that job?"

Holle put her hands on her hips. "Sheesh, do you people think I'm just supposed to sit in one spot and do the same thing all day, everyday…? The souls just get a bit backed up while I'm away, but I take care of it at night. Good thing Goddesses don't need to sleep, eh?"

Holle was trying to cue laughter, but Ryker turned his head away indifferently. She took a deep breath- a month in, and she still wasn't making much of a breakthrough…but at least he'd talk to her.

And sitting in the front of the class was Zeborah, Connor, and Junior, who were all watching their presentation that was displayed on the CAT, tweaking out anything that needed to be fixed.

Except, Connor insisted on doing all the work.

"It's not that your help is…unwanted," Connor had stated slowly, swiping and swapping things on the screen of the CAT. "…but this is the only way to maintain maximum perfection."

"What the heck, Connor?!" Junior hissed, leaning his head on his hand and glowering at the boy. "This is a GROUP project! Why do you insist on hogging everything?"

"Because I'm the only one who can guarantee success with certainty," Connor huffed, not even glancing away from the screen. Zeborah simply stared forward, puzzled and thoughtful at the same time.

"Connor…" Zeborah said softly, and miraculously Connor turned to acknowledge her. "Do you remember the first day of school, when we built that translator for Ridley?"

"One of our worst mistakes, in my opinion," grumbled Junior. Connor simply nodded, and Zeborah folded her arms.

"Well, you certainly didn't do that alone. While you had thought of the plan, you still managed to find a part to play for everyone. Even Penji, even Darcy…even me," she carried on, smiling sadly. "You don't have to be alone, Connor. You've already proven that if you work with other people, amazing things can happen-"

"Oh please don't get started on teamwork," Junior groaned, sounding faint. "That's the stuff they teach at Hero High."

"Yes, the real super power of team work is a taboo subject in my class," Eggman murmured from his desk. Orbot popped out of his orb form and shook a finger at the doctor.

"You know that more than anybody, boss!"

"Nobody asked you either," Eggman grunted, stuffing Orbot back into his ball and returning to his reading. Zeborah rolled her eyes and turned back to Connor.

"All we want to do is our fair share and help you, okay?"

Connor hunched over his desk and pressed his gloved fingers together, as if pondering the proposal.

"I'm not sure…if that's in my best interest," Connor mused, and Zeborah tugged at her hair in a frustrated manner.

"Connor Robotnik, I hope that whatever's wrong with you can be fixed, because I don't know how much longer I can put up with you…!"

Connor muttered something under his breath, but it didn't appear like it was aimed at Zeborah. Junior and Zeborah looked at him curiously, but it appeared as though he had completely pulled out of their conversation and entered a new one…with no one in particular.

And Eggman could only watch somewhat pitifully, shaking his head because he didn't know what he could do.

**Third Hour, Gym Class…?-**

The students had already hurriedly flocked towards the gym at the end of the school, but when they got there, they found that it was all locked up. Purple and Damien throttled the door several times, but it wasn't budging.

"That's weird; Sonic's ALWAYS here," Zelda huffed. "He's, like, crazy-protective of that room, ya know…"

Luke glanced to the left of the door and ripped a note off the wall.

"…says here that class will be held in the, uh, Janitor's Closet today," he read off. "The gym is closed for the day due to preparations for the dance later."

This was confirmed when Luigi came scrambling out of the room with a box full of various things. Purple tried to sneak a peek inside, but the door had shut far too quickly.

"We're seriously having class in a janitor's closet?!" Zelda screeched. "That's ridiculous!"

"Compared to the other ridiculous things we've done?" asked Purple. "Come on, Tails' room is cool, and I bet the rest of the class is there already. Let's get moving!"

"This should be interesting…" mused Damien, although he was carefully looking over his shoulder. Luke noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…what are you doing?"

Damien did another double-check before sighing. "Ugh, it's just…all day, I've been seeing this girl around school, one who definitely doesn't go here, but every time I try to talk to her, she vanishes…"

"And you're not seeing things?" Luke asked.

"I really hope I'm not…" Damien muttered, gliding off to the Janitor's Closet.

**Janitor's Closet-**

By the time Damien, Zelda, Luke, and Purple reached the Janitor's Closet, where Elysia, Coby, Pink, Angelina, Tenn, Lulu, Marcus, Skippy, Starlos, and Alph were waiting, their ears pressed against the door to the room. Damien put his hands on his hips and looked on curiously.

"Okay, what's going on now?" he asked, and all eyes rolled over to face him.

"Well, we were told to meet here, but Sonic is tiiiiiicked off in there," Starlos explained. Damien put on a blank face and sighed.

"Thanks for that description, Starlos…but what's got Sonic of all people in a tizzy?"

"We have no idea," Angelina said airily. "It's mostly just loud screaming, but I think Miss Rose is in there…and naturally Tails and Knuckles."

The four just looked at each other before hurriedly trying to press their ears to door too. The sound of something being thrown across the room could be heard, and everyone instantly cringed.

"Sonic, please calm down…!" Amy's voice squeaked, followed by the sound of a table flipping.

"Knuckles, that's my work bench!"

"Sorry, but I don't see you trying to stop this raving lunatic…!"

"Amy, I've had it up to here with you…!" Sonic started up again. "You can't keep imposing on my life!"

"I'm NOT imposing if it concerns matters related to YOU-"

"They only relate to me because of your unnecessary meddling-!"

"Guys, please! Don't you have a class to be teaching right now ANYWAY, Sonic?!" Tails' voice stung back in. "Besides that, you and Knuckles are making a mess of my room-!"

"Well I'm sorry, but if Amy hadn't just happily slapped my name on a certain set of adoption papers-"

"What was I SUPPOSED to do?! Be a single mother?"

"That was YOUR choice, not mine! There was absolutely no reason why I needed to get involved, other that the fact that you have to involve me in everything that you do!"

"I do not!" Amy exclaimed, sounding hysterical and almost on the verge of tears. "I just…there was no one else that I wouldn't…you know…and I knew you wouldn't have agreed, so I…I…"

It got quiet in the room for a brief moment, during the same moment that Junichi came running up, looking flustered but relatively content.

"Hi guys! I totally missed the sign on the gym door, but I…wait, what're you all out here for…?"

"Juni, maybe this isn't a good time…"Elysia trailed, with Coby and Skippy behind her sliding their hands across their throats. Junichi could only stare curiously as the commotion started up in the room again.

"The whole point of you adopting was to get your mind off of me, remember? THAT'S why I was on board with it! I NEVER said that I wanted to be responsible for a kid, and I still don't, and you went behind my back, and…and…geez, I _never_ asked for any of this!"

The kids all gaped and instantly ducked as the door to the janitor's closet was blown off by a rapid gust of wind, with Sonic standing on the other side with his quills standing on end and huffing heavily. His eyes were sharp, at least until he caught sight of the students, in which he softened immediately.

"What…" he whispered, anger evaporating into panic. "How much…did you guys hear...?"

The look on Junichi's face was more than enough of an answer. His irises were impossibly bright blue, tears were stinging the corner of his eyes, and he was trembling considerably. Sonic cringed and stepped forward, trying to call for Junichi, but the purple hedgehog only shook his head.

"You…don't want me…?"

"Junichi, it's not what it seems-" Sonic had started to say, but Junichi turned heel and ran, bolting down the hallway and bursting into tears. Sonic grimaced at himself, with good old Amy, Knuckles, and Tails there to back him up.

"You idiot! Way to go, bro!" Knuckles exclaimed harshly, whacking Sonic brutally over the head. "You just made your own kid cry. Parent of the year, right there."

"Shut up, Knuckles! How was I supposed to know they were listening?!"

"Well maybe you shouldn't have said those horrid things in the first place!" Amy shouted, just about ready to cry herself. "…maybe you are right. Maybe I'm better off not having ANY thing to do with you…"

"Amy, wait-" Sonic started off weakly, but Amy whipped out her hammer and slammed Sonic into the nearest wall before careening off down the hall after Junichi. Sonic was utterly floored at how bad things had gotten, the students were speechless, Knuckles was now cheesed off, and Tails could only close his eyes and sigh as he adjusted the goggles on his forehead.

"Well, on the bright side of things, at least Shadow wasn't around to see that," Tails grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose before rolling his gaze over to Sonic. "But dang, do you really feel that way about Junichi…?"

"Of course not!" Sonic groaned, grabbing his forehead. "I'm just mad that all of this happened beyond my control…but now that I've gotten used to him and gotten to know him, I can't imagine my life without him…"

"Then go after him and tell him that!" Tails cried, pointing off down the hall. "Sort this thing out before it gets any worse…"

"Not right now."

Purple of all people had said that, his cap pulled over his eyes.

"Perhaps you should talk to him after both him and Amy have had a chance to calm down…"

"I agree, Purple," Damien stepped in, looking firm. "No need to stoke the fires while they're still hot."

"I just hope they're both okay…" Elysia sniffed, staring down into the distance. Knuckles just groaned and waltzed back into the room.

"I'm too old for this…!"

"And I am _so_ tired of my doors getting broken!" Tails exclaimed. "That's, like, the third time this year!"

"I'll fix it later, Tails," Sonic sighed, herding the students into the closet. "Just…everyone, get in the room."

"And, uh, how do you expect us to shut the door-?" Starlos had started to ask, but Sonic's look silenced him instantly. With all those kids crammed into the room, there wasn't that much space, and it was honestly making Tails claustrophobic.

"You literally couldn't have used any other room this hour…?!" he asked irritatedly. Sonic shrugged.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, and I wasn't expecting Amy to charge in ranting at me…"

"Why not just go into the basement?" Knuckles asked innocently enough, and Sonic and Tails combined pinned him to the wall and covered his mouth.

"What're you doing, knucklehead?!" Sonic hissed in a whisper, eyes darting over to the students quickly. "They don't know about the basement…!"

"WHAT basement?" Coby asked obnoxiously, and Sonic and Tails glowered at Knuckles. Knuckles pushed them off of him and brushed himself off.

"I forgot…!"

Zelda jumped onto the nearest table and put her hands on her hips. "All right, what's this about a basement…?"

"And it's obviously something important if it was being kept from us," added Lulu with folded arms. Tails rolled his eyes and groaned, flying over to the far end of the room.

"Well yeesh, no point in keeping the secret now," he grunted, typing in a passcode on a number pad embedded in the wall. "Might as well show them all…"

"Show us what?" Alph asked, but Sonic smirked in his direction.

"Juuuust wait for it…!"

Tails was practically dancing along the wall at this point, as entering the passcode into the number pad had revealed a whole inner working system behind the wall.

"Sometimes even walls may lie…" Tenn whispered under her breath.

Tails was twirling about, throwing levers, hitting switches, pressing buttons, and doing it all in one fluid motion. He even used his tails to activate a couple of things, and after inputting one last code, a red button emerged, and leaning against the wall and smirking, Tails punched it with the back of his fist.

"Here we go!" he called, just as certain sections of the floor began glowing blue.

Tails was the only one that stood stoic as the floor beneath them collapsed, revealing that it was actually an elevator. A few of the kids started floating in the air and began panicking, but Sonic just chuckled and jumped into the air along with them.

"No worries, it's an anti-gravity chamber," Sonic explained. "It doesn't get turned back on until the elevator stops, so we all won't go crashing into one giant heap on the floor."

"That's very innovative," Pink giggled, with Tails merely shrugging.

"Just a safety protocol I had to take…"

"Psh, flying is nothing," Knuckles hummed, and Sonic pushed him slightly.

"Yeah, well, not everyone can fly, Knux. Woo!"

Sonic returned back into the air, rolling around and laughing his head off, which in turn made the students more comfortable and caused them to fly around too.

"Hey, this IS fun!" Zelda chuckled, twirling around as Coby swam around behind her.

"Now I know what Kirby feels like when he floats everywhere!"

"Don't get too used to it," Tails stated, hovering in the air himself. "The elevator stops just as quickly as it starts!"

As he finished saying those words, the elevator finally slowed to a stop, but as Sonic had promised, the anti-gravity was still on. Everyone descended to the floor in slow motion before the gravity was fully turned back on. When everyone had their feet planted on the ground, Sonic jogged on ahead.

"Well, Chaos forbid I let a day go by without you kids learning something, so I'm gonna show you something that's way past cool!"

He went running down the hall, lighting it up with his afterglow. Tails and Knuckles simply shook their heads as Tails flew on ahead.

"It's a straight shot and then a left," the flying fox explained, floating off after Sonic. Knuckles trudged with the students to keep an eye on them, even though it wasn't that long of a walk. Marcus skipped next to Knuckles and constantly nudged his arm.

"Where are we going, exactly…?"

"It's not my place to tell, kid," Knuckles stated, and Marcus was caught in silent curiosity.

When they finally reached where they were going, they found Sonic leaning nonchalantly against the door to what appeared to be a vault. He tilted his head up and flashed a shiny grin at the group.

"What took you so long?"

"We can't move in the blink of an eye…?" Knuckles retorted, with Sonic rolling his eyes and walking away from the vault.

"Yeah, yeah, always the same excuse…"

Skippy hopped over to the door and proceeded to knock on it. "So, what is all this anyway?"

Sonic clapped his hands and twirled over to the vault, where a light suddenly turned on and illuminated the area.

"This, my good students, is the Harmony Vault!" Sonic exclaimed dramatically, with Tails making special effect noises in the background. "A vault under the school that houses the Harmony Core- the very thing that represents everything we believe in!"

"Oh my gosh, _the_ Harmony Core?!" Angelina exclaimed.

"The one that Kirby just finished telling us about?" Luke added curiously. Sonic went blank.

"KIRBY told you about the Harmony Core!?"

"At Peach's insistence, and he also didn't tell us that it was under the freaking school!" exclaimed Starlos. Sonic simply rubbed his hands together.

"Well, since you're already aware of the history of the core, I won't get in trouble for showing you its location, then! Ha ha ha!"

"So, can we see it?!" Zelda and Coby asked excitedly. Sonic shook his head.

"No can do, kiddos. I can't even open the door…by myself, anyway."

"…huh?" trailed Marcus, scratching his ear. "Then how are you supposed to get in?"

"The trick is that no one SHOULD be able to get in, but obviously an emergency might happen…thus, we made it so that only the combined DNA scanning of Mario, Link, Kirby, Samus, and yours truly can open the door…" Sonic explained. "Of course, if something were to happen to any one of us, the door couldn't open at all…thus, we created a super-emergency backup system via the Master Charm."

"Ooh! That sounds pretty!" exclaimed Elysia.

"Yah, pretty important!" Sonic laughed. "So important…that I don't even know where it is."

The students just blinked in response.

"Well…that's smart," Purple huffed sarcastically. "If something happens and you don't even know where the Master Charm is-"

"The only two people who know where it is are Mario and Peach, and Chaos forbid something happen to them," Sonic sighed.

"When I made it, we all decided that it was best that as few people know the location as possible, to lower the chances of someone stealing it," Tails added. "We agreed to let Mario hide the Master Charm, and he only told Peach about it…nobody else knows where it is."

"Luckily we haven't had a use for it, yet," Knuckles huffed, knocking on the vault. "I don't even know what it looks like…!"

Luke turned to face the vault and stared at it curiously. "So…you don't know where it is, nor do you know what it looks like?"

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles fell into silence.

"Well,_ I_ obviously know what it looks like, but the knowledge of its location…I'm not as fortunate to have," Tails hummed, twirling his thumbs together. He then checked his watch and bit his lip. "…hmm, anyway, WOW. Is it nearly time for lunch ALREADY? That's crazy!"

Purple checked his Xtransceiver and raised an eyebrow. "We still have ten minutes-"

"Regardless, we've told you all we can about the Harmony Vault, so we should probably start heading back," Sonic interrupted. The class all groaned in protest. "…we'll have a race to the elevator. First one there gets to go to lunch early."

The class started booking it back to the elevator without another thought. Sonic chuckled under his breath and started to follow, until Tails grabbed his arm and stopped, glaring harshly at the floor.

"…don't try to run away from this problem, Sonic," Tails said sternly, bringing his gaze up to face his adoptive brother. Sonic grimaced and glanced away.

"I wasn't planning to. I'm not exactly the headstrong teenager I used to be…I'm a headstrong adult now!"

"I just don't want you 'dealing' with this problem the same way you dealt with Amy, because that exact treatment is what landed you in this situation," Tails continued. "…I know it might be hard, but talking it out is honestly the best thing you can do."

Sonic was silent for the longest time, with Knuckles leaning against the wall waiting for a response. Tails was waiting far more patiently than Knuckles was, but eventually Sonic sighed and threw an arm around Tails' shoulder.

"…I told you that before, didn't I?"

"Yes, you hypocrite," Tails huffed, especially when Sonic ruffled his bangs. "It's about time you take your own advice."

"As if his advice is sound to begin with," sneered Knuckles. Sonic shot the echidna a look before winking at Tails and whisking himself down the hallway, part to declare who would go to lunch first…and part to get a head start on fixing what he broke.

**Elsewhere-**

Junichi had sprinted away from the janitor's closet as fast as could, but seeing how he wasn't really all that fast AND he was frustrated and angry beyond belief, his eyes turned red and he found himself performing Chaos Snap to get himself away from everyone.

He ended up huddling by the back entrance, sitting against the wall with his knees pulled to his chin and tears bubbling over the edges of his eyes.

"I knew… he didn't really like me calling him my dad…but I guess now I understand why…"

Junichi's bottom lip quivered as he started bawling quietly again, hiding his face from anyone who decided to happen by. He felt so betrayed and lied to, and he couldn't even think of anything to do but to cry.

Eventually, a comforting arm draped across his shoulders and pulled him into a hug, and Junichi was so beside himself that he simply fell into it, desperately seeking comfort. He cried into the side of his comforter, already feeling tons better knowing that someone really did care for him.

When he finally calmed down enough to get a look, he saw that it wasn't anybody that he knew; instead, it was a young girl not much older than him, one arm holding Junichi close to her and the other hiding her face behind a red fan. Junichi felt surprisingly comfortable with girl, but he still recoiled due to his shyness and cast his gaze at the ground.

"W-who…are you?" he stammered, his eyes going from a sad turquoise to a nervous orange. The girl laughed softly from behind her fan, before putting a hand on Junichi's shoulder.

"…just a friend that wants to comfort you, Junichi," she responded, and Junichi's eyes widened.

"You…know me?"

"Yes," she nodded, tightening her grip on her fan. "I know you, and Damien and Elysia and Tenn and even Starlos…you in particular are the adopted son of Amy and Sonic."

Junichi's ears drooped as his eyes became blue and downcast again. "Yeah, well…I thought I was…but apparently Sonic never wanted me…!"

He gripped the floor and tried to hold back his tears, with the girl sighing softly behind her fan.

"Even if what you say is true…sometimes love is not the most obvious emotion," the girl began to explain. "Love may not happen right way, nor may it be recognized right off the bat…but all instances of love take shape in some form, whether its realized or not…"

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Junichi blubbered. The girl then brought her hand under Junichi's chin and lifted it up, and the purple hedgehog could tell she was smiling behind her fan.

"What I'm trying to say is that while Sonic may not have been up to the thought of having a son at first…he eventually warmed up to the idea and now loves you very much. He's just not the most expressive person about it…"

Junichi stood back up and wiped his eyes, staring hard at the kind girl who had been there for him.

"Do you really…think he cares about me?"

"From what I hear, Sonic holds life and freedom very high in regard," the girl stated. "But what he values even more than that are his friends, and his family. I think if you talk to him, you'll realize that."

Junichi was silent for a moment, pondering the girl's words. Eventually, his eyes turned yellow and he smiled.

"I…hope you're right. Sitting over here crying about it and feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help anything. I'll just have to talk to Sonic, I guess…"

The girl stood up as well, still hiding all but her eyes behind her fan. "That's all I ask."

"I'll…head back now. It's almost lunchtime anyway," Junichi stated, brushing himself off. The girl nodded.

"Thank you...for talking to me," she said, and Junichi shook his head.

"No, thank _you_ for making me feel better."

The girl just chuckled a little bit. "T'was no problem at all."

She turned and started walking down the hall, but Junichi suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, wait…! How about you join me and my friends at lunch? I'm sure they would all love to meet you, even though I don't even know your name…"

The girl's fan concealed her expression, but Junichi swore he saw a trace of sadness dance across her eyes.

"There is nothing more that I want than to do just that…but I'll get in trouble," she whispered, wrenching herself from Junichi's grip and careening away, and moving so fast that she left a trail of flames and a pair of scorch marks in her wake. Junichi was bamboozled by it all, completely bewildered by the sheer amount of mystery that surrounded the girl, but as she was gone, there wasn't much more that Junichi could do.

Thus, he wiped away the last of his tears and headed down the hall, hoping to smooth things over at lunch.


	5. Biting Off More Than We Could Chew

**Finally, the lunchtime chapter...! Sorry for the lateness; stuff happened. Very "my-laptop-decided-to-wig-out-on-me-during-finals-week" kinda stuff. Managed to get a temporary one now, at least...**

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 5: Biting Off More Than We Could Chew

**Lunchroom-**

As the students of Villain Prep gathered in the lunchroom, Zeborah, Junior, Peri, Penji, Dash, Darcy, Holle, and especially Ryker flew up to be the first to get a hold of the only thing that was served at lunchtime- Medusa's Casserole Surprise. More than half a year in, Medusa STILL didn't know that the students never really ate her food…except for Ryker, whose alien DNA infusions allowed him to stomach the gruel.

As they were scrambling to get their bowls of variously colored gruel, Steelo pulled out a silver lunch box and popped it open, taking out a fruit salad and a can of lemonade. Ninty next to him haphazardly tossed a brown paper bag onto the table and pulled out a dry bologna and cheese sandwich on wheat bread, grumpily chewing on it. Steelo took a sip of his lemonade before turning to Ninty curiously.

"Your lunches…get progressively worse each day," he observed. Ninty just sneered.

"I didn't even get a drink today…" the psychic huffed, taking another angry bite of his sandwich. Steelo looked thoughtful for a moment and took a Lava Cookie out of his box. He slid it over to Ninty and took another sip of his lemonade.

"Jeez, maybe I should pack two lunches…"

Ninty quietly accepted the cookie and hung his head.

"That, or I should start making my own lunch."

"…it must be hard having parents who are a different alignment than you," Steelo said quietly. Ninty groaned and fell forward, slamming his forehead on the table.

"You have no idea. They're trying their best to act like nothing's changed…but knowing they have a son that's not all good on the inside has kind of tainted their view of me, though I can't really blame them…" Ninty picked his head up and turned to Steelo. "So, do your parents know about your alignment?"

"…I barely knew my parents," Steelo said airily, taking a bite of his fruit salad. "My mom was never really around because she works for the Global Trade System, and she was away from home a lot."

"And your dad?" Ninty asked. Steelo shrugged.

"He…wasn't the best. Fought with my mom a lot. Hated my sister. Was never nice to me, so I stayed away from him."

"…oh," Ninty stated quietly. Steelo shrugged once more and tossed one of his silver Pokeballs, his green-tinted Skarmory popping out. Steelo smiled a little and took out some Pokemon food, and Skarmory happily pecked at it.

"But it wasn't always bad. There was a short time when my mom was home more often and my dad was nicer, and on my fifth birthday, they got me this shiny Skarmory. Of course, my older sister took care of it for me until I came of age, but…I suppose that's really my last good memory of them. Shortly after, my mom couldn't take my dad anymore and moved out, and my dad got even worse, so my sister went on a Pokemon journey and took me with her. So essentially, she's really the one who raised me."

Ninty was about to ask what it was that drove Steelo to attend Villain Prep in the first place when Penelope suddenly plunked next to them and set up her feast of a lunch that could end world hunger. Ninty's eyes darted over to watch as she set up a mini buffet with hot dogs, hamburgers, three different kinds of soda pop, strawberry shortcake, raspberry cheesecake, and a whole pizza. Even Steelo was relatively stunned.

"...why are you guys staring at me like that?" Penelope asked casually enough, reaching for the raspberry cheesecake. "I always eat like this."

"We know THAT, but…you usually don't sit with us, so seeing a…spread like this is…disconcerting," Steelo explained, pulling his cap over his eyes. "You're more than welcome to stay though."

"…I'm so thirsty," was all Ninty muttered, and the next thing he knew, Penelope was sliding her cream soda over to him. "Huh-?!"

"There's more where that came from; drink up," Penelope grumbled, chewing on cheesecake. "You can have pizza too, if that sandwich and cookie aren't holding you up."

Ninty blinked, then wasted no time psychically picking up a piece of pizza and bringing it over to his mouth. As he devoured it down ravenously, Penelope offered a hot dog to Steelo. Steelo held up his hand and declined the offer.

"No thank you, Penny. I have plenty," he politely refused, smiling. "Though I must ask, what's with the generosity?"

"…you guys were nice to me; I'm just returning the favor," Penelope said simply enough, before taking out her computer again. "…anyway, I've been searching through what I could of Villain Prep's records; you're never going believe this…"

Steelo and Ninty leaned in to see the screen as Penelope pulled up a picture of the location of the Discipline Core. As soon as she did, Steelo grimaced and Ninty smacked his forehead.

"They have a vault too…?!"

"Except it's called the Discipline Chamber," Penelope pointed out. "Also unlike Hero High, they didn't give out detailed instructions on how to open it…but judging by the keypad and the voice scanner, I'm sure some sort of identification is required."

"So, now we need to get into Villain Prep's full mainframe, figure out just who has access to the vault, and find a way to use that to our advantage," Steelo hummed. "Sounds like a plan!"

The three of them shared a high five, but as soon as they did, a bit of a riot broke out at the other table. Steelo, Ninty, and Penelope looked over to see Darcy O'Donnell clawing at the table in front of her.

"I am NOT going another day without eating something edible…!"

Junior, Zeborah, Penji, Peri, Holle, and Dash were watching the display while looking rather hungry themselves, and Ryker had snagged all their helpings of casserole and was hungrily devouring them all. Connor was sitting off by himself, with a bowl of steaming chicken and dumplings in front of him, and the smell was wafting into the nostrils of all present.

"…anyway, whose turn is it to take care of lunch?" asked Dash, his stomach roaring in protest afterwards.

"It's not me- I had Pa cater yesterday, and now he's complaining that we're low on things in the royal pantry," Penji mumbled. "And we're totally not."

"And I brought the lunch my aunt made the day before," Zeborah pointed out.

Junior pointed his thumb over to Peri, who was already spreading a table cloth over their table. She delicately tucked a stray tuft of hair behind her head and pulled out her small periwinkle lunch box. Holle scanned it curiously and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, how is a meal for eight kids and teens fitting in that little box…?"

"The same way you can stuff a giant Haxorus into a Pokeball," Peri stated with a small smirk, flipping the latches to her lunchbox. A spark of blue light emitted from the box, spreading out over the table until plates materialized before everyone present. Darcy stopped clawing at the table long enough have a plate of fish presented before her. She started devouring into it ravenously like it was her last meal, with Dash quietly shaking his head.

Junior had flaming hot wings put in front of him, Zeborah received a spicy chicken sandwich, Penji was excited to get a container of sushi, Holle got to enjoy a vegetable medley, and Dash received a nice bowl of fruit. In the middle of the table, a pitcher of fruit punch materialized, and Dash was the first to pour himself a glass.

"I hope that it's all to your taste," Peri remarked, setting a napkin in her lap as she got prepared to eat her own dish of cordon bleu. Darcy, Dash, and Junior seemed immediately satisfied. Penji repeatedly thanked Peri for her contribution while Holle was checking to make sure her vegetable lunch wouldn't grow legs and turn into a "revolting dinner".

Zeborah was curiously chomping on her sandwich, though she seemed a bit sad while she did so. Holle caught her looking down at lunch and nudged her shoulder.

"What's up with you? I almost didn't think Peri would pull her end of the deal and get lunch today," Holle murmured, sliding a glance at Peri. "…no offense, Peri."

Peri simply held up a satin gloved hand. "None taken. I'm just glad to have proven myself."

"Nothing's wrong," Zeborah explained, gaze locked onto her sandwich. "It's just…it's not as good as Connor makes it…"

The mention of the name caused the group to throw glances to the resident brainiac, who had finished his meal and was now plugging away on his CAT muttering to himself. Peri frowned in his direction before turning back to Zeborah.

"Sorry my butler couldn't recreate it exactly to your preference," Peri apologized, but Zeborah shook her head.

"No, it's still good Peri, and I appreciate that you did this. I'm just feeling a tad nostalgic or something."

Peri smiled slightly as she picked up a fork and joined in on eating. Darcy, who had all but inhaled her fish, took a breathing break and snarked at Zeborah.

"What're you looking back that far for?" she asked, unceremoniously picking her teeth with a claw. "I like this new Connor! He doesn't talk nearly as much and gets on my nerves."

Connor suddenly fell silent himself, but he didn't actively enter the conversation.

"Darcy, don't go dredging up things again," Zeborah hissed darkly, trying her best not to escalate things. Darcy scanned the red-haired girl with her sharp blue eyes and sneered.

"Ah, you're the one that keeps pulling him back into our convos where he definitely doesn't want to be." She waved a finger contemptuously. "He's moved on. He doesn't want to be included. Let go already."

Zeborah narrowed her eyes. "I refuse to give up on him."

"Then that's your beef, pal. Don't bury the rest of us under it-"

"I wasn't-!" Zeborah hissed sharply, the fork clenched tightly in her hand suddenly burning with a purple flame. Junior leaned forward and grunted to himself as he violently tore a bite off his chicken wing.

"Can't ever have a peaceful meal around here…"

Just when it looked like Zeborah and Darcy were about to get into it- especially since Zeborah had chucked her flaming fork across the room and nearly hit Ninty with it- Connor coughed and dabbed his face with a napkin.

"I couldn't help but overhear your recent discussion, and I do hope you'll pardon an interjection," he mused, standing up and marching his way over. Everyone, even Penelope, Ninty, and Steelo fell silent, though a few were nervously shuffling in their seats.

Not Ryker, though- he was finishing up his latest bowl of casserole with gusto.

Connor waltzed to the table in the area next to Zeborah and across from Darcy, leaning forward and pressing his fingers together diabolically. Darcy scowled at him, but remembering the incident with her arm, she remained tight lipped yet alert.

"So it's come to my attention that this girl-" he gestured to Zeborah. "-actually caring about me is somehow problematic to you, and the reason as to why YOU'RE so inclined against it has piqued my interest."

"Isn't it obvious?" Darcy asked, donning a slasher smile that showed she assumed she had the upper hand. "I'm just trying to help her- showing such care and compassion doesn't a villain make. All I'm trying to suggest is that maybe she shouldn't be so open about-"

"So the fact she has passion makes her not a villain," Connor deadpanned, and Darcy simply looked at her hand.

"Well, you haven't exactly seen Andross or Hades or Ghetsis donating to charity or giving out free hugs, have you?"

Zeborah cast her glance away as Connor retained his poker face, beginning to stroke his chin.

"Regardless, your argument is actually kind of funny, since you're not exactly a shining example of a proper villain either."

"Shots fired!" Holle exclaimed as the whole table opted to move away from Darcy. Darcy gritted her teeth and started to claw at the table once again, but not nearly as haphazardly as before.

"And where exactly do you get the gall to claim THAT?!" she sneered through her teeth, her razor sharp gaze nearly tearing into Connor. Connor merely adjusted his collar and remained confident.

"Because you have no ambition other than deriding people constantly. That's not evil; that's just plain rude and mean…which, okay, IS a form of evil, but certainly not a respectable one. What have you done yourself that merits the endless bragging and boasting about how much better you are, hmm?"

"He's got a point," Holle mused, smirking behind her staff. "You just sit there and yell at people, but you haven't really done anything constructive…or destructive, as it were, heh heh. Plus, your aura as it is now is a dreadfully ugly shade of gray."

"My aura is NOT gray!" Darcy insisted, though there was no use in attempting to lie to Holle. Connor and Holle were now glaring holes at her, and Junior, Zeborah, and Penji were quick on the rebound too. Even Peri was glancing at her with slight contempt, and Dash-

Dash was looking away.

The sting of betrayal was only demonstrated by the sudden twitch in Darcy's expression, and after the twitch, her face of denial and arrogance was now rendered fake.

"…are you trying to tell me you all think I'm a lousy, ambitionless villain?"

"Girl, we've been telling you for months." Holle was the one to speak, seeing as she had the least to lose at this point. Darcy just stood there flabbergasted, and everyone was honestly expecting a second wind of bravado from her, seeing as she never knew when to quit, but she simply stood up and migrated to the other table, not even making a show of storming out the door yelling to the heavens like last time.

She simply detached and left.

When nobody immediately said anything afterward, Dash grumbled something under his breath and grabbed his head, then slammed his elbows onto the table with frustration. Penji was wringing his gloves, Peri was adjusting her glasses in a persnickety fashion, and Zeborah merely sucked in her cheeks.

"Wow, you guys suck," commented Ryker, lapping up the last of the casserole from his latest bowl. As many recoiled in disgust at the sight, Holle frowned and pointed accusingly in his direction.

"Oh really? And why's that?"

"Well for Kraid's sake you've got three people who are such lousy villains that they might as well be heroes for crying out loud, and yet you all just dog pile on Darcy for _being_ a villain, but just not being very good at it. Stupid."

"Well we-!" Zeborah began, but Ryker hissed at her and she recoiled.

"Don't even argue that you were being mean because you're evil, because that goes against the exact point your worthless boyfriend made," he sneered, slamming his palms on the table with his machete jetting out. "Real evil wouldn't waste time with such petty things, instead going straight for what they want and doing it quickly…and swiftly."

He then made his way out the door to wherever for whatever reason, leaving Holle put in her place and everyone else out of sorts.

"That…escalated quickly," commented Peri, who began folding up her tablecloth.

"The first time Connor speaks up without hurting anybody and we all get burned," Junior murmured under his breath. Zeborah and Penji were about to detest to that fact, turning to Connor…

Only to find him mysteriously gone.

Of course.

Meanwhile, Darcy had removed herself to the neutral table. Penelope took no interest in her and Ninty flat out ignored her, but Steelo was quiet and calculating, assessing the situation and trying to manipulate it to his own advantage. When he felt he had a solid grip on an idea, he leaned closer to Darcy and offered his condolences.

"You have my finest apologizes, dear Darcy…" he began, but Darcy seemed to snap back to life and glared murderously at him. "…you know, I always thought you were a fine villain."

"Oh, here were go," snorted Ninty under his breath, cuing Steelo to kick him from under the table.

"It's just that, perhaps your mentality isn't entirely geared toward such a life style…"

"Why do you care?" Darcy murmured, flashing her fangs defensively. "Jeez, I came here to get away from being pestered, not get hassled _politely_."

"I understand," Steelo retreated for now, contemplating his options again. "You're welcome here, though- relax, have some soda, and forget all of them, but just know that all your talents, your fighting ability and you mercenary stealth…are appreciated."

He nodded toward Penelope, who rolled her eyes and passed a Cola towards Darcy. They exchanged a cold and unforgiving look, but seeing as this was still a step up from what she previously experienced, Darcy accepted the drink and swigged it.

"After all," Steelo drummed his fingers together as he leaned back in his seat, trying to suppress the grin that was starting to form. "I'm_ sure_ we can find a place for you."

**Cafeteria-**

In the larger dining room at Hero High, Sonic had let Damien go to lunch first, seeing as he was the first one to the door. Elysia was behind him moping to herself.

"Come on, Damien; that was totally unfair. Out of all the students, we all know you're the fastest! Could've at least cut ME some slack…"

"I _thought_ I was the fastest," Damien whispered to himself, staring at his currently empty lunch tray. Elysia quirked an eyebrow at this before rolling her eyes.

"Oh goodness, you're not talking about that mystery girl again, are you?"

"She left flames in her wake and made skid marks on the floor afterwards!" Damien exclaimed, throwing up his hands. "It was the strangest thing…I don't even know how she could've possibly done that! Not to mention I couldn't keep up with her…"

"Did you just say…that she left flames in her wake?" a new voice asked, this one being Luigi behind the counter with the day's lunch. Damien and Elysia were struck stunned.

"Um…where's Peach?" Elysia questioned.

"She took over for me this morning, so I decided to give her a break today," Luigi explained, placing a Fruit Parfait and a Fresh Salad on Damien's tray. "Besides, my cooking isn't THAT bad! Who do you think catered Link and Zelda's wedding?"

"I heard you were on roller skates during the after party," Damien deadpanned. "My parents still fondly talk about that day…"

Luigi smirked and handed Elysia a parfait of her own. "I must've done a good job then!"

Damien continued down the line to where Kawasaki was handing out drinks, while Elysia scoped out Luigi curiously. Luigi noticed her staring and eventually recoiled back.

"…what?"

"You asked Damien what he meant when he was talking about how some girl he's imagining moves so fast that she leaves flames in her wake…why did you want to know?"

Luigi retained the greatest poker face known to man and simply shrugged. "I just thought that it was curious…it's not like that's something you hear often."

"…I suppose you're right," Elysia finished, moving along so that the rest of the students could get their lunch.

Although, she swore that she saw Luigi press his lips together in a thin line out of the corner of her eye.

Meanwhile, Purple was scoping out the lunch line, watching as Pink was conversing with Coby, Marcus, Alph, and Skippy in some casual conversation on her way to the table. Luke, whose tray was stacked so high with food that he could barely see where he was going, ended up bumping into Purple.

"…what are you doing?" Luke asked with a sigh, once he registered that it was Purple who was proving to be an obstacle.

"Look at all those guys Pink is conversing with…! I bet one of them is asking her to dance right now-!"

Luke inwardly winced. "Well, Purple, if you'd just get it together and talked to her, I'm sure everything would turn out fine! I mean, she's your best friend; how could she say no?"

"I am a complicated teenager who is governed by raving hormones, okay?!"

Luke would've put his hands up had he not been balancing his mountain of lunch on his tray.

Pink eventually ended her conversation with the guys and made her way over to her table where Angelina and Tenn were waiting. Purple instantly whisked himself in that general direction, leaving Luke to sigh once again. Starlos ended up walking over to the gentleman in training, gnawing on a bread roll.

"So, you haven't told him yet either, I take it?"

"No," Luke exhaled, shaking his head. "I…kinda fear for my life, soooo…"

"I hear ya." Starlos took another bite of his roll. "Still, how can he be so oblivious? If he's really the gutsy punk everyone makes him out to be, he should've been able to ask Pink to the dance easily…"

He then skipped over to his usual table, leaving Luke to ponder to himself as he went to his own table. When he took his seat next to Marcus, Skippy was happily eating his burrito, while Lulu was quietly taking small bites of her vegetable was actually Alph and Marcus that made the whole scene bizarre, because they looked like they had some absolutely convoluted idea that Luke knew he didn't want to end up being a part of.

But out of curiosity, he dared to ask.

"What, exactly, are you two conjuring up?" Luke inquired, taking out his spoon and beginning to dine on the parfait Luigi gave him. Marcus was looking giddy beside him, building up suspense with his silence before slamming his hands on the table and yelling bombastically.

"We're gonna play match maker!"

Luke started choking on a strawberry, causing Lulu to cartwheel over and perform the Heimlich maneuver. The danger was over almost as quickly as it started, yet Luke was still completely flabbergasted.

"Please tell me this is an elaborate prank…"

"Nope!" Marcus exclaimed, gesturing to Alph. "Show him the list, buddy!"

Alph nodded eagerly and forcibly placed a list of names on the table. Luke picked it up and skimmed it cautiously.

"…why are some of these names scribbled out in red?"

"It means they're taken," Alph elaborated. "There're only six girls in Hero High, and nine guys. With Angelina and Starlos now a pair, that leaves four girls who haven't been paired up yet. The market's going fast!"

"And Damien, Junichi, Marcus, Alph, Coby, myself, and Purple haven't been paired up yet," Skippy added.

"I must personally congratulate you on your date choice, Luke," Marcus stated out of the blue, and Luke almost wound up choking again. "Quite bold, if you ask me."

"Yes, well, she asked me, and as a true gentleman, it would have been rude of me to tell her no," stammered Luke, whose face was now incredibly red. "But why are you people butting into others' business? Maybe all those unpaired people don't _want_ a date?"

"Well _I_ want a date, and I want that to happen before all the options run out," declared Marcus, leaning in towards Lulu and raising his eyebrows. "And yet, this pretty girl refuses to allow me the pleasure of taking her."

Lulu puffed out his her cheeks as she turned away. "I told you, I don't see what's wrong with you, me, and Skippy just going as friends!"

"'Cause I wanna know what it's like to have a date before I'm twenty-five," Marcus insisted, and the gray rabbit girl rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you're worried that it'll take that long, then something's wrong."

Luke, Alph, and Skippy snickered quietly as Marcus shut up and became flustered. Once Alph got over his laughter he turned to the list and skimmed it over again.

"Yeah, if everyone's not paired up at the dance, then Marcus and I are going to swoop in and save those sorry souls from being left out!"

"…but won't there still be three guys left over?" Luke asked, and Skippy smacked his forehead while Marcus and Alph exchanged nervous glances.

Meanwhile, at New Team Mario's table, Elysia was prodding and poking at her sandwich, Coby had already eaten his haul was now picking off of Zelda's tray, who promptly smacked him, while Damien was looking worse for wear. His eye was twitching and his fork was trembling in his hand, and once Zelda had shooed Coby away, she turned to her brother and shook her head.

"Damien, you need to get past this already!" she exasperated, throwing her hands in the air. Damien groaned in response, slamming his head on the table.

"I know, I know…it was probably nothing, but…every time I saw her, it was like she was trying to tell me something! It HAD to be her, and it HAD to be real-"

"You're going mad!" Zelda insisted. "You've been stuck up for so long that you're seeing things!"

Damien tried to muster up a response for that, but then Junichi suddenly ran into the room, eyes wide and looking excited. Elysia was about to ask him if he was okay before he nearly ran into a chair and stammered, "I saw that girl Damien keeps talking about!"

"Oh no-" Coby groaned as Damien sprang out of his seat and nearly pinned Junichi to the table.

"What!? Where? When? Why?! What did she do?! Did she say anything?!"

"She found me in the hallway crying and she came and comforted me and said all these really nice things and made me feel better," Junichi explained.

"And she gave no hint to her identity?" Elysia asked.

"Well, I offered her to eat lunch with us, but she said she'd get in trouble if she did…"

"Most intriguing!" exclaimed Damien and Zelda pulled her pink cap over her eyes. "Y-you actually SAW her though- face and everything?!"

"Not quite; she had her face behind her fan, but she had this shiny hair in a ponytail, bright blue eyes, and a dress made of the finest red, orange, and yellow cloth! She was really pretty and really nice, and it's too bad she couldn't join us; you all would've liked her!"

Damien looked like he was about to have a heart attack while Zelda disgruntledly chewed on her fork.

"I can't believe she actually exists; there's no way Junichi would lie about that…"

"Well, ah, anyway," Elysia spoke up, twirling a spoon between her fingers. "Maybe we should change the topic…after all, we've barely even mentioned the dance that's happening TONIGHT, thanks to Damien's delusions…"

"Ha, maybe he can ask his imaginary girlfriend to dance," sneered Zelda, with Damien going unmistakably red in the face.

"I don't even _know_ her-!"

"These days you don't have to," murmured Coby, with Zelda bursting out in even more laughter. Damien moaned and hit his head against the table, with Junichi turning heel and heading out of the cafeteria again. Elysia noticed him start to take his leave and turned around in her chair.

"Juni, where are you going? You haven't even had lunch yet!"

Junichi halted to beam at Elysia, his eyes a strange but welcome shade of yellow.

"That girl said that I should go talk to Sonic, so that's what I'm going to do!"

"You…feel better already?" Elysia asked, blinking in surprise. Junichi nodded before practically skipping out the door.

"What can I say? She really had a way with words!"

**Counselor's Office-**

Miss Rose was writing fervently at her desk; nothing of importance, mind you, but at least she was _trying_ to make it look like she was busy in case someone happened to drop in. However, it was already too late for that, because Queen Zelda was pacing haphazardly across the room, her heels clicking with every step.

"I cannot _believe _he chewed you out like that. Haven't you already discussed that whole situation over with him?"

"Apparently we haven't finished," Amy deadpanned, continuing to draw random scribbles on her page. She'd calmed down considerably, but was still feeling pretty terrible. "But, I really can't blame him. I'm at fault too-"

"Wasn't there a more _diplomatic_ way to go about things, though?!" Zelda insisted, throwing her arms up. "I mean, running his mouth with such foul things like that! He's normally such a nice guy; I would never have expected a spiel like THAT out of him!"

Amy winced and leaned into her desk. "You're blowing this out of proportion…that's my job…"

Zelda whirled around and slammed her palms on the desk, looking Amy in the eye. "I am not! This could be the start of something horrible, and think of what it could mean for your son! An unstable parental relationship could be costly!"

"Easy for you to say!" Amy hissed, gnawing the end of her pencil violently. "You're happily married with _two_ biological kids for crying out loud! I had to adopt and I'm still single…!"

The silence could be stabbed with a _knife_ it was so thick.

"…my apologizes; that was insensitive," Zelda murmured, coming down from her rant and biting her lip. "Listen, dear, all I'm trying to say is that I, and everyone else, just want you to be happy. Even if you did do some questionable things, it's nothing that can't be forgiven with time. I'm just personally upset that Sonic dredged up all that badness again…"

Before Amy could properly retaliate, there was a sudden knock on the door, with both girls turning to look toward the sound.

"Come in; I'm always happy to help a student!" Amy called, quickly putting her glasses on and returning to jotting down miscellaneous things. Zelda smoothed out her battle skirt before taking a seat herself.

Both of them grimaced when it was Sonic that entered.

"Never mind!" Amy exclaimed, whipping her glasses off again as she turned away. Sonic frowned and pushed the door back, leaving it slightly ajar.

"If you're still a little agitated, I can come back later, if ya want-"

Zelda murmured something under her breath behind delicately folded hands, which made Amy tap her pencil against the desk in thought.

"…ah, Zelda, I think I can handle this myself. I fear your presence will only escalate things."

"O-kay," Zelda stated, standing up again and stretching her arms over her head. "But if you need back up, I'll be back in the library…_sharpening my rapier_!"

Sonic flashed a nervous grin as she flicked out her cape and glided out, leaving the door just as Sonic had left it. Gulping and tugging on his bandana, he cautiously turned to Amy, still tapping her pen against the table.

"Ah, um, what's up with Zel…?"

"To tell the truth, I don't know. I just told her about our fight and she suddenly got all defensive." Amy proceeded to shrug. "I think she's afraid we could've really hurt Junichi with all that, and I can't help but agree…"

Sonic nervously poked his fingers together. "I…can't say I didn't mean those things, but maybe you were right and I shouldn't have said that out loud, per se…"

"And we wouldn't have even been in that situation if it wasn't for my carelessness," Amy sighed too. "I'm really am sorry, Sonic…it wasn't my place to do that, and I didn't realize how much it would affect you."

Sonic smiled slightly and folded his arms. "I know you are, and I really did forgive you already; it all just…suddenly came back to me at once and I lashed out when I shouldn't have, so I'm sorry too. Old age must be getting to me."

"You act like you're fifty!" Amy exclaimed, rising from her desk with her normally bubbly demeanor. She stepped over to Sonic, folding her arms behind her back as she smiled carefully at him. "But, um…does this mean we're cool again?"

"'Course," Sonic responded with a wink and thumbs up. "One little offset isn't enough to stop me from being your friend, Ames, and nothing could ever change that."

Amy blinked for a moment, surprised at_ being_ surprised at Sonic's easy going nature, before she burst into happy tears and plowed into him with a hug. Sonic stood there awkwardly for a moment before patting her lightly on the back.

"Take it easy there, Amy! It'll be okay!"

The door suddenly creaked, making both hedgehogs jump, only for Junichi to poke his head in curiously.

"Am I interrupting…?"

"No, it's fine," Amy assured, hurriedly drying her eyes. "You can come in, sweetie. Are you okay?"

Junichi nodded, only to be swept up in one of Amy's hugs too.

"Ack, Mom, no-!"

"I got one too, kiddo; that death grip of hers hasn't changed with age," Sonic chuckled, but then his face fell slightly as he stepped closer. "…but you came to see me, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Junichi hummed quietly, pulling away from Amy. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay now, and that I'm not mad anymore."

Any heaved a ridiculously heavy sigh of relief as Sonic looked skeptical.

"I…can't possibly deserve such quick forgiveness; from you or your mother," he murmured. "Junichi, I know that I said I didn't want you, and it is true that at first, that is how I felt-"

"But now that you've gotten to know me, things are different," Junichi finished, a small smile on his face. Sonic hung his head and nodded.

"It's not just with you- at first, when I first met Tails, I had never planned on keeping him with me. He was just a little kid though, and I wanted to make sure he got somewhere safe…" A lopsided grin suddenly took shape. "Heh, who would've thought that would've been with_ me_? Even now I can't believe how long he's stuck around, and just like with you, I can't imagine my life without him. Sometimes unexpected changes are for the best, in the end…"

"You don't have to say anymore Sonic; I know it's hard for you to explain yourself," Junichi said. "Just know that I do understand, and I'm just happy that you gave me a chance."

"…oh, come here," Sonic stated at last, scooping up Junichi and coddling him. "You're almost too nice, you know that?"

"Well, nothing good comes from being mean…Sonic," Junichi pointed out with a chuckle. Sonic looked thoughtful for a moment, until he smiled softly and patted Junichi's head.

"Eh, you can call me Dad if ya want, kiddo. I know it means a lot to you."

As Junichi released an excited gasp, Amy let out a cheer and pulled them both in for another embrace.

"Ooh, I can't help it! This moment may never happen again…!"

"Mom-" "Amy-!"

The three of them were picture perfect in the room, tenderly sharing the moment for as long as it would last. Unbeknownst to them, they were being eyed through the crack of the door, watched by the girl with the shiny hair and vermillion-red fan.

"Just as it's supposed to be; happy I could assist," she commented quietly, softly fanning herself. She turned away eventually, making her way down the hallway sadly. Eventually, she snapped her fan shut, clenching it a little too tightly in her fist as her eyes squeezed shut.

"A shame…my own family cannot be the pinnacle of such happiness. Not even slightly."

**Principal's Office-**

Just as lunch was coming to an end, Mario was casually sitting at his desk, going over things for the dance along with Peach. Peach was a little more reserved than usual, but Mario wasn't one to pry, and they were almost finished with their list as it was. However, just when they were beginning to reach the very bottom of the list, the door opened abruptly, with Adeleine haphazardly making her way in.

"Principal Mario! I have…dire news," she exclaimed, which instantly snapped the two to attention. Addie wasn't wasting any time…

"Dire?! What do you mean?"

Adeleine nervously twisted her beret around in her hand. "Um…how do I put this…? Ah…the school's been breached-"

"Breached?!" Peach gaped again, with Mario yelping and falling completely out of his chair. "Who?! WHO?!"

Before Adeleine could speak, Luigi flew in the door, eyes wide and an apron still tied to his neck. He was frantic as he awkwardly shuffled in, gasping for air and trying to sort out his words.

"The…the students!" he gasped, sprawling out on his brother's desk as Mario picked himself up off the floor. "Some claim…to have seen...girl…fast…fire…"

Mario fainted back to the ground as Peach's hands flew to cover her mouth. "You're not saying that it's possibly _her_, are you!?"

"Maybe…" Luigi wheezed, falling to the ground with Mario. "MAN I ran way too fast…!"

"That's…what I was GOING to say. Shadow, Falco, and Ethan were checking the security cameras during second hour, and they caught her zooming around the school. She must be interacting with some of the students," Adeleine explained. "But, um…she isn't the only one that's running around when she shouldn't be…"

Luigi was blanching all over again. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

"We absolutely can't let her get away with this! We have to get them out of the school immediately!" exclaimed Peach, slamming a fist onto the desk. "Adeleine, I want our emergency contacts here right away to handle this situation _delicately_. Luigi, I want you to make sure no one in Team Mario, Team ZAP, Team Luigi, the Alliance, _or_ the Allies finds out _who_ she is, and most importantly, _all_ of you are forbidden from revealing any of this to the students…! They know more than enough!"

Peach was _hysterical_, Adeleine rushing to make the call with no questions asked, while Luigi hurried to see who else was aware of what was happening. Mario eventually picked himself up once again, eyes wide as he pulled himself up to his desk. Adeleine and Luigi had scrambled out immediately, with Peach left pacing but trying her best to keep it together.

"I've got this, Mario…this will be handled swiftly, and _quietly_…"

Mario just pulled his cap over his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Ha ha, "quietly" she says...<strong>


	6. Crossing the Lines

**Guest (who I think is ThePartyGod but I won't assume!):** Thanks! I'm usually not good with mystery elements as I'm horrible at pacing suspense, so I figured this would be good practice! And Steelo is definitely a favorite of mine, regardless of alignment. :D

**. . .**

**Plots! Fights! Intrigue! This chapter's got it all! ...including the guest characters that finally make their appearance which belong to my good friend Piklink. ^^**

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 6: Crossing the Lines

**Fourth Period, Badness Basics-**

Scarily enough, Ryker was the only one in a relatively good mood, humming a demonic song as he pulled his books out of his locker then slammed it shut. When he approached his fourth period class, everyone else was already there, including Connor, who had stuffed himself in the back of the room with headphones. Dedede was drumming his hand impatiently on the desk, staring at Ryker curiously.

"Nice of you to join us, Mister Rondinelli."

"What? I'm here, aren't I?" he huffed back, waltzing across the room and plunking himself next to Holle. Dedede rolled his eyes before standing up, staring at his lesson plans for the day with Bowser's warning buzzing around in his head. Bucking up, he called for Waddle Dee to pass him a piece of chalk, and began scribbling on the wall.

"…let's begin right away, then," Dedede stated, wasting no time. The students shuffled in their seats, taking out notebooks and instantly sitting to attention. Dedede normally gave out the most important information. "Today's lesson will be on a topic that applies to all of us…reasons for being evil."

The pencil Steelo had in his hand suddenly snapped in two.

"Of course, there are an infinite amount of things constituting to such, but they all stem from one thing that governs life…and that's discipline."

And suddenly, Steelo was interested again.

"This dips a bit into your history, but the universe consists of two components; harmony and discipline. And those that follow the side of discipline tend to have a drive to simply change things for the better, or to make things in line with their own personal views. However, tampering with that which should not be tampered with tends to lead to chaos…and then, such actions are suddenly seen as evil."

"Question," piped up Penelope, lazily raising a hand. "Are you trying to say that all evil motives originate from ideals of discipline?"

"The vast majority," Dedede confirmed, scribbling some words on the board. "Quests for power, drives for revenge, conquests for domination…even smaller scale things always are some form of desiring massive change or personal gain."

"Okay, sure," Holle stated, leaning her elbow on her staff. "But that can't entirely be the case."

"…no, obviously. Like I said, possibilities are infinite," Dedede mumbled quietly, pulling out his hammer. "Sometimes being evil isn't entirely a conscious decision. Outside forces beyond a person's control can take shape…"

"Deep, deep," nodded Dash, note-taking as usual. "Continue!"

"This is bogus," commented Ryker, gnawing on a toothpick. "We could talk endlessly about what makes a person evil, you know. Motives are as different as snowflakes, and therefore to pin their causes would be an insurmountable feat…especially ones not consciously made."

"Hmm," muttered Dedede, hefting his hammer over his shoulder. "It's funny…I would have thought you'd be more interested in this considering that one of those forces beyond control includes genetic mutation."

"Tell me something I don't know." Ryker shrugged. "Hence why I decided to _embrace_ it rather than fight it."

His blade withdrew from it sheath on his arm as his face scowled darkly.

"I was given a second chance at life, and if this is the gift that was given to me…then I have no reason to go against it."

The words were sharp and bitter, and made even the likes of Holle recoil. Dedede just sighed and adjusted his cap.

"However, aside from that, there are even certain…conditions that people have that may drive them to madness," he continued. "Disorders, medical conditions, all sorts of things that can't entirely be controlled…which allows me to lead into today's assignment."

He wrote some more on the board before facing the class as a whole.

"Tonight's homework is to research a potential motive for being evil and write a few paragraphs on it. As I mentioned several times, the choices are infinite, so I'm going to assume all of you have unique topics…meanwhile, I'll have to step out for a moment to tell the Principal that I'm actually doing my job."

The class mumbled in unanimous agreement, dragging out their computers and papers and getting straight to work. Zeborah herself was particularly curious as she scooted over to Dash, who was booting up his computer.

"Saaaaay, Dash, um…could you do me a favor?" she asked, nervously tapping her golf shoe on the floor as she leaned across the aisle. Dash pricked his ears up as he typed in the password.

"What do you need?"

"I…need you to look up a few symptoms for me," she stated, biting her lip. "I want to see if I can locate a certain, _potential_…disorder."

"You want to see if Connor's got anything, don't you?" Dash deadpanned, typing away. Zeborah flinched and sent a quick look over to Connor; he appeared unaware, at least for the moment.

"…someone mentioned it earlier, and now this assignment is the perfect way for me to find out," Zeborah explained. "I'm really, really concerned, Dash…"

"I know," Dash stated, turning the computer to face Zeborah. "Hence why I already searched his behavioral patterns: anti-socialness, evil impulses, unnatural intelligence-"

"That's not a symptom," interrupted Junior, scooting his way into the group.

"I know, but I figured that it might factor in," Dash suggested, scrolling through the options. "Now, let's see…rampaging teenage hormones, no…Tourette's syndrome…Hypomania…"

"I really hope it's not Super Ignorance Syndrome," grunted Junior.

"Nah, that's Penelope," Zeborah commented.

"Malign Hypercognition Disorder," murmured Holle abruptly, reading the last link on the list. The three of them looked at her, wondering when she'd arrived, but returned their attention to the screen as Dash clicked on it.

"Mad scientist disease?! Evil genius syndrome?!" Zeborah hissed under her breath.

"Oh my…this might be it…" he cringed, hesitantly scrolling through the information. "It says that this is a hereditary condition that results in high intelligence, but drives people to use that advantage for nefarious purposes, and can be triggered by heavily traumatizing events. Some side effects, although rare in most cases, include impulses, extreme changes in behavior, anti-social tendencies, and even can result in acute schizophrenia, leading to hearing voices that aren't really there…"

"What the…?!" squalled Junior, practically pushing Dash out of the way. "Where did all this come from?! The symptoms only happened a month ago…!"

"It's a hereditary condition," read Dash, eyes going wide. "…that explains it! It has to run in the Robotnik family!"

"Which would elaborate why Professor Robotnik and Doctor Robotnik were and are mad scientists themselves," hummed Holle. "They inherited the condition as well, and they've experienced traumatizing things that triggered it. Connor's must have triggered after the thing with Darcy."

"Then…wouldn't Maria have had it too?" Junior asked. Dash scanned the article again and shook his head.

"The disorder is inherited through the Y-chromosome; only male Robotniks can contract it."

"Gah! Who cares about his family!? How do we cure _him_?!" Zeborah cried, urging for more information. Dash shook his head and turned to her.

"Zeborah, it's a disorder; it's unlikely to be cured. We'd be lucky enough if we could treat it, and even then that might stunt his real personality, and who know what that could cause…"

"But we can't just leave him like that," Zeborah sniffed, tearing welling up in her eyes. "He's gonna go insane like the rest of his family…!"

"There's…nothing we really can do other than leave him be," Holle realized sadly. "Upset him even in the slightest, and we'll end up like Darcy did or worse-"

"NO! No, there's gotta be another way…!" Zeborah cried, slowly descending into hysterics. "Please…anything we can do…"

"We can't," Junior sighed, defeated. Zeborah lurched out of her seat as she started to cry; Holle was there in a second to catch her. The Goddess then glanced over at Connor, still in the corner and tapping away at his CAT, and it was impossible to tell if he had noticed or not. Steelo, Ninty, Penelope, and Darcy weren't paying the slightest bit of attention either, though Peri and Penji looked concerned from across the room and quietly wanted to know what had happened.

Holle only shook her head.

Meanwhile, Darcy wasn't feeling too keen herself, sharpening her claws with a particularly disgruntled look on her face. Ninty and Steelo were actually working diligently on their assignment while Penelope was looking far too amused at Darcy.

"What's got your fur in a tizzy?" she asked spitefully, making Darcy clench her fist painfully tight.

"Ah, don't mind me. Just feeling ridiculously betrayed right now, that's all."

"Okay, good. I almost thought you were constipated with that look on your face-"

Darcy growled and whipped out her laser rifle, aiming it right between Penelope's eyes. Penelope wasn't the least bit deterred, with Steelo rising to delicately lower the rifle down with his hand.

"…perhaps speaking about it would be more ideal than rash decisions," he suggested, with Darcy snarling and putting it away again.

"Whatever; you guys were there! I was getting shot at with insults and Dash just…_turned away_! He's supposed to be my partner; we're on each other's team for Pete's sake, and suddenly he's having second thoughts?!"

"Obviously you two aren't seeing eye to eye as you once were," Steelo pointed out with a shrug. "Maybe this is a good opportunity to step back and reflect, if anything…"

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" Darcy demanded suspiciously, eyeing Steelo up and down with sharp blue eyes. Steelo didn't even flinch. "Don't try to pull some sugar-coated answer, either. You're way too shifty to be doing any of this without some ulterior motive."

"Darcy, I can't possibly be that easy to read," Steelo scoffed lightly. "While it's true that there is something I desire to ask of you, I sincerely wish to help your circumstances."

"You use too many words," the wolf complained, folding her arms. "But whaddya want from me?"

Steelo pretended to look thoughtful. "You're in the process of becoming a mercenary, aren't you? Then I have a request for you that will guarantee a very worthwhile reward."

Ninty and Penelope rolled their eyes as Darcy spun her chair around and faced it toward Steelo. "I'm listening."

Steelo removed a copy of his jump drive from earlier, sliding it cross the table and into Darcy's possession. She blinked curiously at it, glancing back up at the Pokémon Trainer.

"I need you to infiltrate the office and figure out the location, password, and DNA verification of something called the Discipline Chamber, located in Villain Prep's database," he stated seriously. "I tried to have Penny do it wirelessly, but it's heavily encrypted; far more so than the mainframe of Hero High, which I suspect is because of Eggman."

"Of course it would be," Darcy mumbled, rolling around the jump drive. "And, this requires me why…?"

"If you can extract the raw files from the office's computer manually and we upload them into Penny's laptop, she can easily crack into them from there without having to bypass firewalls or any other security," Steelo explained. "And as you are a master in the art of stealth, I assumed that this mission would be no problem for you. Putting a drive into a computer? Please!"

"All right, you've gained my interest, cretin," Darcy announced, pocketing the drive. "But, what's in it for me?"

"Shamefully, I could offer you revenge again all those who dared to mock you, but what if I were to suggest something more worthwhile?"

"Money?" Darcy asked hopefully, to which Penelope snorted.

"Cash really isn't what it's made out to be…"

"No," Steelo grunted, recomposing himself. "Tell me, Darcy, aren't you the _least_ bit curious about what I've got planned?"

"Not really, other than how it benefits me," she grumbled.

"In that case, you'll only find out if you're successful," Steelo hummed, turning back to his computer. "And I know the lure of something for you already has you more than hooked, so it's just a matter of time now…"

"Why bother?" complained Ninty. "Obviously she can't handle it."

"I can so handle it, you little punk, and unlike _you_, I can actually get away with something if I put my mind to it!" she snarled, slamming a palm down. She then collapsed back into her seat, angrily turning away. "Heck, I'll have the information to you by the end of the day…!"

"Then I'll be more than happy to clue you in on things," Steelo stated pleasantly, getting back to work on his assignment. Ninty was doing the same, although Penelope was personally bored with it.

"Man, I can't believe Dedede gave us homework. That's completely bogus!"

"Actually, I wish that King Dedede's lecture lasted just a bit longer," Steelo began, leaning back in his chair. "I would have appreciated a more in depth elaboration…"

"Why?" grumbled Ninty, looking as disinterested as usual. "You can't really break it down more than he did already."

Steelo frowned as he adjusted his vest. "That response disappoints me, Ninty. You know just as well as I do that there's a middle ground to everything. _You_ said it yourself; why follow harmony when it leads to stagnation? Why follow discipline when it only hurts all involved? What's so wrong with accepting things as they are while also changing when necessary? Perfect balance is perfectly acceptable."

Darcy blinked, turning to face Steelo curiously. Steelo glanced back, a small smile on his face as he adjusted his hat.

"…it's weird," Darcy mumbled, glancing away. "…something about what you said seems…right."

"I'm just speaking the truth," he chuckled. "Everyone can agree at the median; I never understood why everyone fights so hard for the extremes, unless it's the influence of conformity…but you know, what _truly_ comes in between harmony and discipline…"

Steelo pulled his hat over his green eyes, hiding them from view.

"…is freedom."

**Fourth Hour, Combat Training-**

Chosen Hero Link paced up and down the long line of students, looking a little too excited for his own good. Zelda matched his enthusiasm while Damien was pinching the bridge of his nose. However, after what appeared to be several minutes of nothing BUT pacing, Starlos had enough and eventually lost it.

"What _exactly_ do you have planned for today?!"

Link finally stopped and leaned forward, his blue scarf swishing dramatically.

"Today, we are going to demonstrate exactly what we've been learning in this class…by having a bit of a quiz."

"A quiz?" Starlos deadpanned.

"A _quiz_?" gasped Alph.

"A QUIZ!" cheered Luke excitedly.

"No one told me there'd be a quiz!" wailed Skippy. "I didn't study…!"

"Calm down, calm down; it's not a conventional quiz," Link explained. "It's literally more of a showcase review of all that we've learned. Since the year's almost over, I figured it was time to see just how far we've all come before the end."

He drew out his sword and pointed it dramatically to the sky.

"We're going to have a brawl! Boys vs Girls, three matches based on the fighting styles, and whoever wins two out of three gets extra credit!"

Blank stares.

"…the winners also get free time on Monday."

"YEAH!" whooped Zelda, spinning around excitedly. "This is gonna be fun!"

"This is going to be unfair," Damien announced, cuing groans behind him. Lulu put her hands on her hips and stared at him questioningly.

"Why? Because you think girls are weaker than boys or something?"

"Uh_, no._ MAYBE because there are more boys than girls?!"

"He's got a point," Tenn stated aloofly.

"MAN! Damien, why'd you point it out?!" complained Starlos. Luke shook his head.

"Because no one else was really going to notice…?"

"Link, what're we gonna do?!" exclaimed Skippy. Link sighed and scratched his head.

"Well, I suppose three boys could sit out-"

"On it! I'm not getting pummeled today!" shouted Luke, sprinting over to the sidelines. Link just blinked.

"-but they won't get the free time or extra credit."

"I am totally okay with that!"

"Well I'm not! I want that free time!" Purple demanded. "So, someone else better sit down-"

"Nuh uh! We all want that free time!" shouted Marcus.

"Well unless more girls are just going to materialize out of thin air, we're doomed!" Starlos interjected.

"Well, in that case…maybe I can help!"

The torrent of bickering came to an end as the students turned to face the door, where an older girl suddenly stepped in. She had red hair, green eyes, was tall and pretty slender, and sported a casual light green V-neck t-shirt and jean capris. Zelda stared at the strange newcomer for the longest time before leaning in towards Damien.

"That's…_not_ the girl you were seeing, is it?"

"Not even close," Damien breathed back, shaking his head. "I haven't the foggiest idea who THAT is…"

"It's definitely not that nice girl," Junichi murmured quietly. The newcomer blinked at their strange accusations before smiling.

"I'm afraid you must think I'm someone else. My name is Tamsyn Kennedy, and my younger cousin and I are actually here strictly on business. He's currently busy, but I happened to be passing by and couldn't help but overhear your dilemma…"

"Business? What kind of business?" asked Angelina, interested in the full story as always, but Tamsyn shook her head.

"Sorry, Princess Peach made me swear to keep all details under wraps. However, my cousin and I are excellent at what we do; we should be in and out and it'll be like we were never here, and nobody has to worry about anything!"

The students seemed to buy into that pretty easily, but Link stepped over to Tamsyn as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"I can't say I've ever heard of you, Tamsyn," Link stated. "Who're you parents, anyway?"

"Claire and Leon Kennedy!" she announced brightly, even saluting. "After everything our parents have been through, my cousin and I decided to work for inter-dimensional affairs to help battle against any dark force that may be lurking throughout the universe. My assignment today is a little different, but equally as important, I think."

"…I just find it very suspicious that something's going on in the school, and instead of consulting the fellow faculty, Peach has brought outside forces into it," he pondered, drumming his fingers against his face. Tamsyn merely shrugged.

"Sorry, sir. I'm just doing my job. Peach made it very clear that it was a delicate mission and that I wasn't to disclose any definitive details. As soon as my cousin picks up the lead, I'll be right behind him."

Before Link could inquire anymore, Tamsyn hopped over to the students and beamed at them.

"Anyway, it seems you all need another girl to participate? I'd be more than happy to assist!" she exclaimed. "As much as I don't like to fight if it's not necessary, you all appear to be really stuck, so allow me to help!"

Coby stepped forward and poked at Tamsyn's leg. "I dunno, you look like a stick. Are you sure you can fight?"

"Well, I don't have special abilities or anything, but I'm awesome with my fists! I take after my uncle," she announced proudly. "But if that doesn't work, I've always got a trusty stun baton!"

She then whipped out a metal cylinder that appeared harmless at first, but with a quick turn, she lightly pressed it against Coby, and he was instantly subjected to a rather unanticipated shock. The class cringed as he blitzed about with electricity, but when it finally wore off, Coby stood straight and waved his arms in the air.

"That was AWESOME! Let's do it again!"

"Ha! I am so glad she's gonna be on _our_ team!" cheered Zelda, grabbing Tamsyn's arm and yanking her over. "We've got this in the bag!"

"Even so, we're still down one person," huffed Angelina. Starlos eventually threw up his arms and caved in.

"Fine, I'll sit out too…! I don't have much to contribute anyway!"

Thus, he trotted over to where Luke was sitting obediently, making a face as he plopped on the ground. Marcus shook his head as Skippy adjusted his cap.

"Man, he didn't even put up a fight that time…"

Zelda, meanwhile, couldn't resist a smirk as she twirled her sword around in her hand.

"Don't get too overconfident; it's not over until it's over!" Alph announced. He turned to Link with an assertive look. "Can we get started?!"

"Well, seeing as the enthusiasm in the room suddenly spiked, I don't see why not," Link chuckled, although he was still a bit wary of Tamsyn. "Anyway, to begin, I want you all separated on your teams, now!"

Tamsyn giggled as she hurried over to where Zelda, Elysia, Angelina, Pink, Tenn, and Lulu were waiting, while Damien naturally took the lead of his team consisting of Purple, Junichi, Coby, Alph, Skippy, and Marcus. Link waltzed himself to the middle of it all, holding his hand straight in the air as he prepared to commence the battle.

"The first round will be a test of powers! Now, as my beloved and ever elegant wife has told you in the past, everyone's got power inside of them, but I know not everyone has tapped into that quite yet. So, everyone with special abilities, step up!"

Naturally Damien was the first to make a show of things, Din's Fire at the ready as his cape swished behind him and Zelda rolled her eyes. Junichi nervously adjusted his silver inhibitor rings before stepping next to him, eyes going orange to demonstrate his nervousness. Purple shrugged and sent out his Koffing, spewing gas everywhere and making Skippy inhale and pass out on the ground. Marcus decided to tend to him instead of participating, which was okay because the girls currently only had three representatives.

"Come on!" exclaimed Pink, with Duosion hovering her shoulder. "We need at least one more to be even! We JUST had this problem!"

"I refuse!" Zelda pouted, sitting on the floor with her arms folded. "This is not my specialty."

"And I'm not about to suck out someone's life force, sooooo…no," Elysia coughed.

"I'll do it, then," Tamsyn offered, standing and moving between Tenn and Angelina (equipped with the Violet Palm that made her arm glow). "Like I said, I have no powers, but I'll be a team player."

"All you have to do is outlast the four boys," Tenn pointed out, stretching out her arms eagerly. "Which shouldn't be too hard, if you're really as experienced as you say."

Tamsyn smirked a bit as she crouched into a ready position, with Link relaying the rules a final time –only powers used in this round- and announcing the start of it all.

"Koffing, Smokescreen!" Purple announced, smirking as his Pokémon released a ton of grayish smoke into the air, enveloping the girls and drastically lowering their accuracy. Angelina was the only one able to fend it off, flying into the air before holding her arm out and taking aim at the boys below with her palm.

"I hate to _hand_ it to you, but you're going down!" she cried, sending violet blasts down at the group. Damien instantly deflected with Nayru's Love, then spun around and forced Farore's Wind at her, blowing her right out the air and sending her shots haywire. With Damien distracted, Tenn jumped into and aimed a PK Fire at his feet, forcing him stumble backwards. She grinned like a fool, only for Coby to twirl in and swallow her whole, copying her abilities and becoming Tenn Coby.

"Hahaha, PSI Energy!" Coby wailed, sending firework-like energy blasts into the air that prepared to crash down on the girl. Tenn nagged Coby for choosing her to copy while Pink held out her arm, looking serious as Duosion flew forward.

"Duosion, Protect!"

"Duo!"

The green Pokémon glowed for a moment before a glasslike shield formed above the girls, completely canceling out Coby's PSI Energy attack and leaving all the females unscathed. Tamsyn voiced her approval of the move as she dodge a Chaos Snap from Junichi, but Pink wasn't done. Her gaze directly landed on Koffing, knowing she could take out one of the competition and officially even the odds.

"Okay, Duosion, Psyshock!"

Purple heard her call the attack, turning in horror at the realization that she was using his weakness against him, but thanks to Koffing's Smokescreen earlier, the move had missed, giving Koffing more time to battle. However, Pink was relentless, demanding one Psyshock after another as Koffing just barely managed to evade them all. Junichi eventually helped him out with Chaos Bind, his eyes going yellow as he trapped Duosion in a set of energy rings that rendered it unable to move. Pink cringed, but quickly noticed Tamsyn was far worse off.

"Hurry up you guys!" she exclaimed, doing several backflips in a row that would rival Lulu. She was trying to evade Damien's fast and furious strikes of Din's Fire, but he was forced to stop in order to go easy on his magic. This only allowed Tenn to nail him with a PK Freeze, smiling overzealously as he was stuck in a frozen block of ice.

"Well, Damien's the first out…" Link murmured in a discontent manner, poking his fingers together. "There goes the family…"

Zelda laughed to herself as Tamsyn ran behind Angelina, who was ready to get back in the action with the Violet Palm. She landed and hurled ranged attacks at Coby, who was forced to offensively fight back with all of Tenn's powers. He was about to land a particularly nasty PK Thunder on Tamsyn, but Angelina destroyed his focus with a blast from her palm. Needless to say, Coby went flying across the room as Link declared him out of the running.

"Nice work!" exclaimed Tamsyn. "Wish I could be of a little more use though."

"Hey, you're doing fine defensively!" Angelina assured, only to instantly cringe when Junichi struck Tamsyn, sending the girl tumbling with an unexpected Chaos Impact. "…um, I guess I spoke too soon."

"Sorry!" Junichi called, eyes a brilliant shade of indigo. Tenn attempted to retaliate with PSI Flash, but Junichi responded with a red Chaos Snap, followed by green Chaos Magic. Tenn was blown straight away, and while she landed on her feet, she lost her balance and toppled over in the end.

"Man, guess I got a tad overconfident…" she mumbled, adjusting her ponytail afterward and shrugging.

"Get back, Junichi," Purple ordered, stepping in front of the hedgehog. The trainer was eyeing Pink and Angelina, both who were proving to be fierce. Angelina looked like she really wanted to get to fighting, while Pink had a killer winning instinct- more than likely the same one her cousin possessed. Gulping slightly, Purple turned to Koffing and gave it a careful nod.

"Sludge Bomb!"

"Nice try!" Pink teased, Duosion flying easily out of the way…although the attack nearly decimated Angelina.

"Augh! That nearly hit my hair! Gross!" she scoffed, brushing a few flicks of goo off her shoulder. "Honestly, Pink, can't you get him to fight a_ little _cleaner-OOMPH!"

Angelina was brought to the ground by a very well-timed Chaos Impact, with Junichi letting out another apology as Purple shook his head. He glanced over at Pink, who was looking back with an even sharper gaze before quickly darting her eyes away. What had _that_ been about?

"Come on, Pink! You're outnumbered but not outmatched!" Angelina shouted, flustered at her embarrassing loss. A small smirk crossed Pink's face as she grabbed the brim of her hat and turned it right around so it was backwards. She tossed a wink over her shoulder at her friend before facing the boys again.

"I know."

Junichi raised an eyebrow as Purple started backing away.

"Oh, it just got real…"

"Hey, we can still win!" Junichi assured, sporting yellow eyes as he raised his hands over his head. Purple appeared as though he had other thoughts, especially when Pink struck a pose and outstretched her hand.

"Duosion, Psychic!"

"Dodge, Koffing!"

Koffing was just barely able to evade the powerful psychic move, and Junichi was only able to get away unscathed thanks to curling up into a ball. He uncurled afterward, sending Chaos Bind toward Duosion with no hesitation. Pink frowned a bit, stepping to the side along with Duosion, before snapping her fingers.

"Psyshock."

"Shoot," Purple scowled, flinching as Koffing was nailed with a direct blast of energy from Duosion. …which just so happened to be super effective on Koffing. Purple grumbled to himself as Koffing landed in his arms with X's in his eyes, although the defeat was merely bittersweet for him due to the look of victory that adorned Pink's face. As he returned the poison Pokémon back to its Pokeball, he quickly scooted out the way of the impending showdown between Pink and Junichi.

"Yeesh, you'd think these people were fighting for the world championships or something," Luke commented back against the wall. Starlos was scowling next to him.

"Yeah, and I totally could've been a part of it!"

"…you don't have any powers or a weapon though-"

"Don't remind me!" Starlos huffed, throwing up his arms and turning away. Luke put on an abashed face and turned away himself, only to duck when a blast from Chaos Burst nearly hit him in the shoulder. Turning back, he got the bear witness to Junichi going all out on Duosion, only held back from overriding thanks to his inhibitor rings, but Duosion's speed and evasion were far higher than Junichi's, allowing for graceful and instantaneous dodging.

"Just wait for it, Duosion…" Pink trailed, refusing to attack immediately.

"What in the world…?" Junichi asked with light blue eyes, having finished off a Chaos Strike. Duosion once again spun out of range, and with Junichi distracted, it was the perfect time for a counterstrike.

"Go for it! Confusion!"

Before Junichi could realize what was going on, he suddenly found himself locking eyes with Duosion, with Duosion sending out a pair of twin orbs that swirled around Junichi's head and instantly made him dizzy. His irises went from blue to yellow to red to purple to green and colors in between, before finally resetting back to gray and leaving the purple hedgehog grabbing his head.

"Augh, what's happening!? I can't…can't-OW!"

"He hurt himself in his confusion!" shouted Skippy.

With Junichi utterly discombobulated, Pink held out her arms and directed Duosion forward, ready to end this once and for all.

"Psyshock!"

Needless to say, Junichi had no chance at defending, and he was defeated right on the spot. Link declared victory for the girls, sending Angelina, Tenn, and Tamsyn into cheers while the boys simply moped quietly.

"We might've won if Purple didn't go soft at the end-"Marcus murmured, only serving to aggravate Purple.

"Hey, if you weren't being so selfish with your own powers, then maybe we could've pulled ahead!"

"I don't_ want_ to rely on my powers!" Marcus exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Not even my _mom_ does; I don't know why she pressures me so…!"

"For reasons like this that would_ cause_ you to rely solely on your powers," Link explained. "What would happen if your fists and feet weren't effective enough against a foe and your blaster was out of commission for whatever reason?"

"Jump in the Landmaster," Marcus responded haughtily, folding his arms. Link smacked his forehead and sighed.

"Look, it's not about whether or not you need to _rely_ on a skillset- it's about being well-rounded in case you _need_ to use a particular skillset. I'm not doing this to put you out of your comfort zone; I'm trying to make you stronger in several ways, all right?"

"Seems pretty legit to me," shrugged Tamsyn, only for Starlos to scoff on the sidelines.

"Girl, please; you don't even go here!"

As Luke fanned himself in an annoyed fashion with his hat, Link clapped his hands and called for the next match to get underway.

"All right! The girls have won powers, so next we'll do a more physical challenge. No weapons or special abilities allowed this time; only hands, feet, and pure physical contact!"

Zelda grumbled tastelessly again as the rest of the girls became eager to fight.

"Now this is where I show you what I can REALLY do!" Tamsyn squealed, readying herself as she grinned over at the boys. "I promise I won't disappoint!"

"It will be an honor to challenge someone with your experience," Damien acknowledged, taking a small bow. "Just be aware that it takes a quick hand to be able to land a blow on me."

"I don't even care as long as we don't lose again," grumbled Purple, calling back Koffing and swapping out for Drapion. Pink did the same, trading Duosion out for her Mime Jr.

"All I ask for is a good, clean fight!" Link exclaimed. "Same as last time, last side standing gets the point! Everyone ready?"

The group minus Zelda and Skippy got into formation, each side eyeing the other one contemptibly. Link stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled, and everyone literally threw themselves at each other.

Tamsyn instantly went for Marcus, swiftly ducking under his punches and kicks flawlessly. Her red hair flounced around as she twirled, eventually working behind the blue fox and pounding him to the ground.

"O-ow…! My spine!"

"Sorry!" Tamsyn shrieked honestly, scratching the back of her head and running off to her next target. Marcus writhed on the ground before eventually giving up.

"It's like she's got bricks in her hands…!"

Meanwhile, Lulu was doing a much better job, cartwheeling away from Damien's lightning fasts kick and jabs. She was a gray and pink blur as she struggled to dodge and duck away, while Damien was relentless in his assault. He and his cape swooped about in a dramatic dance, only missing Lulu by centimeters with each strike. However, Lulu was forced to evade straight into Purple, who bore a devilish grin and sent his hand forward.

"Drapion, Poison Sting!"

With no hesitation, Drapion charged forward and stabbed at Lulu with its tail, sticking its pinchers right into her shoulder. Instantly going purple in the face due to being poisoned, Lulu fell backwards and was declared out. Pink jumped to her side and tossed her an Antidote before facing Purple again.

"Drain Punch, Mime Jr."

With Drapion's dual typing of being Poison and Dark, the Fighting-type move ended up being super effective, with the tiny Mime Jr. twirling in place before throwing itself at Purple's slower Drapion, nailing it right in the chest and even restoring some of Mime Jr's energy. As Drapion fainted onto the ground with X's in its eyes, Purple shook his head and called it back into its ball.

"Dang it, Pink! One-hit KO?!"

"I've been training," Pink shrugged, kissing her Pokeball as she slapped her cap on backwards again. "Now, who wants a piece of us next?!"

Apparently she got her answer with Junichi, the hedgehog having collapsed into a ball and throwing himself at Mime Jr. Mime Jr. danced out of the way, before Pink commanded for a Mimic. Mime Jr's eyes began to glow as it memorized Junichi's exact movements, allowing it to use a Spin Dash as well. The two then clashed with each other for the longest time, but neither were even close to being put out of commission.

"Hey, Pink! I could use a little help!" cried Angelina, ducking down for protection as Coby spun around on his hands and kicked his feet in almost a helicopter-like fashion.

"Just a _tad _busy, Angie…"

"I got it!" shouted Tenn, springing into the air. She nearly would've landed on Coby if he hadn't rolled out of the way. The orange Star Warrior pulled his mask over his face, hiding his expression from Tenn.

"So, you've decided to challenge me," he stated mysteriously. Tenn pushed her visor up out of her face and grinned at Coby.

"Always a pleasure to spar with you, my young friend."

"Loser goes down with dignity?" Coby asked, folding his arms and bowing. Tenn proceeded to do the same.

"Loser goes down with dignity."

They then jumped back before running at each other, Tenn going in for a kick but Coby grabbed her foot and hurled her over his head, using her momentum against her. She toppled into the air, unable to use her powers to upright herself, so she landed with a roll before charging straight at Coby again. Coby held out his arms to try and deflect her, but the force of her punch sent him flying too. For Kirby, this would be no problem, as he could just float off, but Coby was unable to as he was too heavy. Thus, when he crashed into the wall, he left a bit of a dent before crashing into the ground.

"Ha, strong as ever," Coby scoffed, brushing off particles of wall. "…but not strong enough!"

"Bring it, kiddo!"

Coby darted forward, stopping just before he reached Tenn to roll forward and maneuver between her legs. Once he was behind her, he brought his foot up behind him and kicked Tenn upwards, before spinning around in place and kicking her again when she came back down. Tenn wailed on her way back down, hitting the ground with a rather violent thud before untying her bandana and waving it in the air as a sign of surrender. Coby lifted his mask and merely winked at her in retaliation.

"Another one bites the dust…" Tamsyn complained as she repelled Alph's rapid assault of Purple and Rock Pikmin being thrown at her. Each Pikmin was deflected away with a quick swing of her hands, letting none reach her. Alph made a face, until his eyes lit up and he hurled a Rock Pikmin straight up, where a Winged Pikmin then caught it, flew over Tamsyn, and proceeded to drop it on her head. Tamsyn didn't see it coming at all, being clonked instantly and toppling over. Alph in his excitement started jumping and cheering, sharing a high five with Coby afterwards.

"Well great!" complained Angelina, rubbing her shoulder with newly obtained bruises. "We're going to lose now!"

"We are not going to lose; we just have to use their strengths against them," assured Elysia. "Damien's speed, Junichi's adaptability, Alph's range, and…Coby's natural ability."

"Psh, preach it sister; there's no way we can do all that. I'm not that physically capable as it is, and Pink's Mime Jr. can only hold out so long," Angelina huffed with a toss of her curls. "It's already taken a lot of damage from Junichi!"

"Just follow my lead," Elysia huffed, cart wheeling forward before kicking Damien in the back. The unsuspecting prince lurched forward, but quickly gathered himself and tried to retaliate. However, Angelina turned his sudden speed against him as Elysia had planned for, using it to push him forward again and send him to the ground. He recoiled in a heap as he glowered up at the two girls, looking beside himself.

"How uncouth! Using such underhanded ways to disarm your opponent! Have you no shame?!"

"It's a quiz; we wanted to pass!" Angelina huffed as she and Elysia performed a fist bump.

"You're out, son," Link confirmed, with Damien moaning as he dragged himself off the floor. The two girls then turned to Pink, who was still struggling with Junichi.

"Come on, Mime Jr.! Double Slap!"

Mime Jr. moved in to smack Junichi twice, but it only got in one hit before Junichi gave it a harsh kick, punting it into the air and causing it to land with swirls in its eyes. Pink let out an anguished wail as she recalled her Pokémon, flopping to the floor.

"Sorry!" Junichi cried. "I hope I didn't hurt it too bad…"

"Please don't tell me you apologize to enemies on a daily basis," Coby sighed, giving Junichi a skeptical look. Junichi shrugged as Elysia and her extended leg suddenly took to the air, striking Junichi and sending them both to the ground.

"Sorry, Juni, I gotta play my part," Elysia stated sheepishly as she sat on his torso. Junichi groaned beneath her as he waved it off.

"It's okay Ellie…you mean no harm…"

"See? My point so totally stands!" Coby exclaimed. "…all right, so it's me and the astronaut versus Elysia and the angel."

"Hey! How come I don't get a codename?" Elysia demanded to know as she rose to stand by Angelina. Coby shrugged as he pulled his mask over his face once more.

"You've been my friend for too long; I can't just LABEL you all of a sudden."

"But it's totally fine for the rest of us?!" Angelina murmured, folding her arms. Alph hoisted a Purple Pikmin into the air and shook his head.

"Let's just finish this quickly."

"I agree!" Elysia exclaimed, kicking the Pikmin out of the way as she acrobatically made her way to Alph. Alhp was completely defenseless when she advanced upon him, shrieking as she flipped him with nothing more than a swing of her arm and a kick of her leg, making him somersault in the air before finally landing.

"Ow…"

"Nice! All right!" whooped Angelina. However, she completely forgot about Coby, who sprang off her head, hitting her halo, and tumbled in the air like a sideways shuriken, striking Elysia hard with his dense body and causing her to collapse. Angelina suddenly wasn't feeling so confident as Coby adjusted his mask and turned to face her, pointing in her direction to let her know she was next.

Angelina booked it.

"NOOOOO! Leave me aloooooone!"

She was a horrendous runner however, so Coby was easily able to catch up with her with airplane arms and everything, ramming straight into her back and causing her to fall forward. Coby rolled in front of her, then used a punch to send her upwards, and as he was expecting her to drop down…she didn't.

"Ha! Behold, I can fly!" she cheered, halting her descent with her pink wings.

"Angelina, that counts as a special ability," Link pointed out.

"Aw, what?! But I'm_ physically_ flapping my wings…!"

"HOWEVER, in the Fighting Styles handbook, it states on page 243, section ZQR-6, subsection R29, paragraph 7, sentence 4 that any act of being suspended above the ground whether with psychic abilities, natural ability of flotation, natural mode of transportation via hovering, or any other act of such which includes but is not limited to gliding, soaring, elevation, or flying in any way, shape, or form constitutes as a 'power' slash 'special ability' because so few have the capabilities of such. _Sorry_."

Angelina groaned loudly as she stopped flapping her wings, letting herself fall.

"Oh, Angel Fluff."

…thus, Coby did what he originally planned to do and grabbed Angelina, throwing her straight into the wall and putting her out of commission. With that, the boys netted the win of the second round, which they cheered for rapidly.

"Yeah! That's how we do it!" Marcus cheered, only to be punched in the shoulder by Lulu.

"Ha- you were the first one out!" she snickered, making him scowl in response.

"At ease, all of you; you're all doing perfectly fine," Link assured. "Some are a bit bolder than others, but you're all putting forth your best efforts in each challenge, which I appreciate. Although, Zelda, darling…"

He turned to his daughter, who pulled her pink cap over her head shamefully.

"…I really wish you would've participated more."

"Well Skippy hasn't done anything yet!" Zelda suddenly quipped, startling the orange amphibian. "And besides, it's not like Damien lasted very long in those challenges!"

Damien covered himself with his cape and frowned. "Will you _quit_ dragging me into everything and just take some responsibility for once?"

Huffing, and desperately wanting to retort but unfortunately not coming up with anything quick enough, Zelda brandished her sword and gave Damien a dirty look. "Fine. I _will_."

"It's a bit late for that, Sister," Damien retorted. "This is the last challenge, after all; any opportunities to prove me wrong have already passed you by, especially since this challenge is the only one you excel in."

"Shut up!" Zelda snarled, balling her fist. "Why do you have to make me feel so bad about things? Stop being so haughty all the time!"

Damien looked especially aghast at the usage of "haughty", but Link quickly coughed and called off the conversation between his children before it could escalate. Instead, he encouraged the start of the third and final challenge: the one of Weapons. Zelda was already armed with her sword, Elysia instantly grinned and activated her silver Power Suit, Angelina took out her Fortune Bow and knocked and arrow into it, Tenn pulled out her golf club and performed a practice swing, and Tamsyn appeared particularly excited as she twirled her Stun Baton around in her hand.

"We're gonna have fun with this thing," she giggled, with Marcus instantly scolding her for the line. Looking curious, Tamsyn glanced over at the boys, which consisted of a masked Coby withdrawing a bronze sword from seemingly nowhere, Junichi trembling in place with orange eyes, Marcus and Skippy readying their blasters, and…them mysteriously being a person short.

"My Pikmin are NOT weapons!" insisted Alph, coddling a blue one. "I refuse to use them as such, especially with all that they do for me!"

"I'm not submitting my Pokémon as such either," Purple demanded obstinately. "Physical and Special attacks, sure. But none of them can really use a weapon."

"I'll step in then," Damien finalized, even though he had no weapon to his name. "Unlike my sister, I'm willing to exert myself in areas where I could use improvement."

"Your face could use an improvement, and I'd be more than happy to give it to you," Zelda hissed, raising her blade. Link gave her a small nudge and shook his head.

"No cutting off your brother's face. Now, to decide who gets that extra credit-!"

Silence.

"…I mean that free time…"

Uproarious cheers.

"…will be dictated by the winner of this match, so everyone, do your best to stay standing! Ready? GO!"

Tenn let out a wild battle cry and she hoisted her golf club into the air with unbridled conviction, prepared to swing it down on her opponents. Junichi managed to block the attacks with his Inhibitor Rings, making small clinks each and every time Tenn struck. He kept desperately defending until Marcus and Skippy both fell onto one knee and started blasting at Tenn, with her spinning the golf club around to deflect their shots.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" whooped Marcus, firing in all directions. "Just the kind of mindless, unorganized violence I've been craving!"

"I so can't believe you just said that," Skippy murmured, ducking behind his friend as Angelina retaliated with a slew of arrows. Once she realized that they both had range, she split the Fortune Bow into two blades and leapt at the duo, slashing at them relentlessly.

"Look at me! I'm all like 'whoosh'!" she squealed, twirling and swinging in a ridiculously pink blur. Marcus and Skippy were barely able to evade, forced to retreat for the time being.

"So eloquently put," mumbled Starlos.

"Yeah, and YOU agreed to go to the dance with her," pointed out Luke, causing Starlos to bury his face. The conversation went unheard by Angelina, and she "whooshed" into the fray again. She and Marcus were currently going head to head, with the both of them tumbling dramatically out of the way of the other's shots while firing their own. Angelina in particular was confident, skipping off to the side after a successful dodge and raising her bow.

"Your fighting is so disorganized! It's like watching a rollerblading chicken."

"I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but it sounded insulting!" Marcus exclaimed. "Skip, hit me up with back up!"

"Roger!" Skippy cried, with Marcus falling to the ground on one knee. Skippy used his back as a springboard, taking to the air and shooting down at Angelina. Angelina broke the bow in two and twirled the blades, grinning dangerously as she reflected the shots.

"Two can play at that game!" the angel cried, flashing her cotton candy wings. "Tenn! Tamsyn!"

With a whoop and a battle cry holler, Tenn flashed forward with her golf club high, jumping towards Damien and swinging without fail. Thanks to Damien's speed, he was able to evade each of her swings, but unfortunately he had no way to counter attack.

"I could use some backup…!"

"I gotcha!" cried Coby, leaping in front of him and lifting up his sword. The edge of the blade managed to block Tenn's club, and suddenly the two were dueling once more. The clang of metal against metal rang vibrantly in the air…at least, until Tamsyn slid under Tenn's legs and jabbed Coby with the Stun Baton.

"Surprise!"

"Not again!" Coby wailed, feeling the several hundred volts course through his body before he was left stunned on the ground. Tamsyn smirked a bit as she high fived Angelina.

"They have us outmatched, guys!" Junichi cried, trembling as Elysia stood over him with her cannon charging.

"Eh, I'm not going to get you out, Junichi; unless we're the last ones standing," Elysia giggled behind her pink visor. Still, she fired some warning shots at Skippy as he hurriedly took cover behind Alph, who wasn't even participating.

"How come the girls have more weapons than the guys…?!"

"We live in a strange age," commented Marcus, firing at Zelda, but the shots merely plinked off her purple shield. She had a crazed look on her face, moving closer to Marcus with her sword poised. He had no cover, forced to only operate offensively, but just as Zelda went in for a swipe, Junichi darted in the way, raising his right wrist to deflect with his Inhibitor Ring.

"Oh, what the_ heck_?" Zelda complained, swinging but being blocked at every turn. Junichi tossed his wrists and ankles about, deflecting the attacks, but finding himself heavily outmatched.

"Could use some back up…"

"We're trying!" Marcus and Skippy shouted, firing back at Tamsyn and Angelina to keep them at bay. Eventually Skippy had the chance to turn around aim at Zelda, forcing her to whirl around and deflect with her shield. Now she was vulnerable, but Tenn covered her with her golf club, whacking Skippy away with a perfect swing.

"Fore!" she called gleefully, only to sense Marcus shooting at her from behind. Out of instinct, she put up a PSI Shield to absorb the projectile, only for Link to blow his Ocarina.

"Foul! Powers in play! Tenn's out."

"MAN!" Tenn huffed, swinging her club over her shoulder and trudging away. Marcus was a little miffed that he hadn't hit his target, but he shrugged; an out was an out. However, he noticed that he was the only one left on the team with an actual weapon…and that wouldn't do.

"Damien, I'll need you to create a diversion," Marcus requested, charging up his blaster for another round of shots. "Junichi, I know it's not your forte, but remain on the defensive! It's keeping the girls at bay and we'll need any advantage we can get!"

"Right," both prince and purple hedgehog responded, with Damien darting over to Tamsyn and Angelina while Junichi took care of Zelda once more. Marcus, meanwhile, tried to get Zelda out before she had a chance to do any real damage, but Elysia was still at large, encircling Marcus with bombs in morph ball form. She gleefully uncurled and darted away, while Marcus put up his reflector shield to negate the upcoming blast. While he was busy with that, Damien was directing the fire of Angelina and Tamsyn's weapons. Angelina was firing arrows as fast as she could, with Damien sidestepping each of them remarkably quickly, while also dancing around Tamsyn's jabs with the Stun Baton.

"Not bad, I'll admit!" Tamsyn laughed, lunging but missing once again. "You're a lot more evasive than Coby, that's for sure…"

"Not as evasive as she is," Damien unintentionally mumbled under his breath. Tamsyn's green eyes lit up at the notion.

"Huh? Who's more evasive than you? You're slipperier than wet soap!"

Damien ducked under her baton again, grimacing. "I don't even know her name, but she showed up at school today, and I'm not crazy, because Junichi saw her too…!"

"What'd she look like?" Tamsyn interrogated carefully.

"Hey! Stop chatting!" Angelina demanded, splitting her bow and driving at Damien. Damien narrowly avoided getting a haircut as Tamsyn attacked again.

"No, I wanna know! What'd she look like?"

"Who?" Angelina swung again, almost netting a blow to Damien's stomach. "Does Damien have a secret girlfriend or something?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Damien yelled, throwing up his arms and startling the two girls. "I just…it's like she wants something from me because she keeps coming for me, yet when I get close she disappears in a trail of fire!"

Tamsyn and Angelina recovered from their shock and went in for an attack again, Damien flicking his cape as he turned away.

"I could never see her face…but that warm coloring of her dress and fan and those blue eyes of hers-"

"WHAT?!"

In a split second, Damien knelt to the ground, just as Tamsyn and Angelina drove their attacks home, both equally in a state of astonishment. However, Angelina's arrow had nicked Tamsyn's shoulder and tore part of her shirt, while Tamsyn's Stun Baton had jabbed Angelina's side. The shock of Damien's words wore off of Tamsyn as she shrieked, pulling the baton away before Angelina could be too…shocked.

"….ARGH!" wailed the angel, cascading to the floor. Her normally perfect curls were now experiencing a whole new level of frizz, and not only that, but she was now twitching on the ground. Tamsyn looked like she was about to collapse with panic, sprinting over to Angelina and trying to get her to come to.

"Hey, HEY! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean- I just- oh, forgive me!"

Angelina hardly seemed deterred by the shock –aside from the damage to her hairstyle- as she was far more interested in Damien, who was perplexed himself at the strange turn of events. But Angelina didn't say anything, instead dragging herself over to Pink and Tenn who immediately demanded to hear what just happened.

"Erm...unexpected, but both Tamsyn and Angelina are out," Link pointed out, rubbing the back of his head.

"Er, uh, that's okay," Tamsyn responded quickly, suddenly taking out a very high tech piece of gear and scrolling through it. "There's something I have to do right now anyway…"

She immediately threw herself into her gadget, making Link suspicious once again, but everything was swept out of perspective when Zelda launched herself at Damien, swinging her sword sharply and making a slashing sound in the air.

"We're still_ fighting_!" she shouted, looking furious. "Darn you, Damien, dragging your little problems into this!"

"Like I meant to have Tamsyn and Angelina get each other out," Damien shouted back, narrowing his eyes.

"Which totally works for me!" chirped Marcus, blasting at Zelda. Zelda lifted her shield at the last second, but ended up stumbling over herself and tumbling to the ground. Marcus jumped at her with his blaster aimed downward, but Elysia started firing at him, forcing him to abandon course. While they were busy shooting at each other, Zelda rolled along the floor, performing a Roll Attack and effectively striking Junichi.

"Nyaaaah-!"

Junichi, who was completely not anticipating anything, was forcefully struck in the back and ended up falling to the ground. His eyes went blue as he pushed himself up again, head spinning.

"Had to be done," Zelda murmured, regretfully turning away. "Had to even the score, and you were vulnerable…"

"Hmph," Elysia huffed, unimpressed by Zelda's display. "Could've at least giving him the dignity of defending…"

"What's wrong with you people today?" Zelda demanded. "When we grow up, we're not going to have the time to worry about whether our opponent _saw_ us or not; the hesitation we take apologizing for kicking butt is a split second that our lives could end! Why does no one else understand that?"

"Because this is just a simple quiz!" Elysia insisted, narrowing her eyes. "We could be possibly hurting our friends! People who are allies, not foes! Why do you treat every person you face with such contempt?"

"_Because_ I take my battles seriously, no matter what!" Zelda snapped back, only for the sound of a blaster to go off.

The rest of the class gasped in recoil, watching a stunned Elysia stagger forward, with Marcus and his smoking blaster behind her.

"Ha," he smirked, blowing on the end. "I had to get someone today!"

Elysia gritted her teeth, Metroid fangs beginning to protrude, but Zelda was the one who flew off the handle, raising her sword high and holding her shield out as she ran at Marcus. Marcus saw her coming and tried firing back, but she was already leaping at him and bringing her sword down, striking him down and rendering him out of the match as well.

"_Now_, who's left?"

She turned to look over her shoulder, sword gleaming in the light…and found her utterly defenseless brother, standing stoic and expressionless as ever. Zelda instantly dejected and slumped over.

"Ugh, you're kidding…"

"If you want that extra credit, you're going to have to come and get me."

"Forget the extra credit," huffed Zelda, twirling her sword over her head dramatically before taking a fighting stance. "You had this coming for a LONG time!"

"Do what you must," Damien mumbled under his breath, which only served to aggravate her more. Without hesitation, Zelda rushed at Damien, swinging low and sweeping out his legs from under him with her sword. Damien fell without the slightest bit of resistance, with Zelda rolling forward, taking to the air, and nearly performing an Ending Blow…only to stop the tip of the sword_ just_ above Damien's neck.

"…I can't believe you," Zelda whispered, grip tightening around the helm of the sword. "You didn't even _try_ to fight me…!"

"If_ I_ countered or defended, it would have been a disqualification," Damien stated blatantly. "And also, if I dodged, you would've struck me in the back, and I've really been hurt enough today as it is…"

"Ugh, I can't win…!" Zelda exasperated and tore herself away, groaning loudly as Link blew the Ocarina again.

"Since Damien is weaponless and at a stalemate, the girls win!" he whooped. "Extra credit for the girls!"

Silence.

"…and the free time…"

"Awesome!" cheered Elysia, with Lulu, Pink, Tenn, and Angelina circling around Zelda excitedly. Zelda wasn't nearly as enthused as she thought she'd be, while Tamsyn smiled lightly and finally put her baton away.

"Well, that was fun, aside from the accidental electrocution," she mused. "I should probably go though-"

"Oh, come on! You've earned this victory as much as we have," Lulu insisted, grabbing Tamsyn's wrists and pulling her over. "At least celebrate with us a little."

"Well…since I haven't heard from my cousin yet, I suppose it's okay to stay a little longer…" Tamsyn pondered, eventually migrating to the rest of the girls to partake in the dance they were performing. The boys weren't feeling terribly confident, but they weren't writhing in defeat either.

Which bored the heck out of Starlos.

"Ugh, this is awful…! Come on, Luke; let's go sneak some extra grub from the cafeteria," he suggested, starting to stand up. Luke was appalled by the suggestion, face going completely aghast.

"Wh-what?! We can't just leave class-!"

"Hey, I know you've snuck food out of the kitchen before."

"…that's not the point! It was never DURING class!"

"It's almost over, and no one's going to miss us anyway!" Starlos insisted, waddling toward the door. "Now come on!"

Luke remained on the floor chanting himself.

"A true gentleman doesn't skip class…a true gentleman doesn't skip class-"

"LUKE!"

"FINE! Fine…"

A true gentleman doesn't give into peer pressure.

. . .

When Luke and Starlos were cutting through the central hall to the cafeteria, they found that the lights were strangely going all wonky, like they were stuck in some cheap old horror movie. Luke even tried finagling with the switches (also successfully solving a hidden puzzle located within the wires) but that didn't help even in the slightest. The lights kept flickering and leaving the corridor bathed in an eerie atmosphere.

"Well, this is most perplexing," Luke commented, pushing his hat out of his eyes.

"Yeesh, did Mario not pay the electric bill or something?" snapped Starlos. "I can barely tell where we're going…"

"This is just a sign that we shouldn't be here," Luke confirmed. "The mere fact that the hall is like this-!"

"I…I'm sorry…"

The two boys froze, instantly going white in the face. Luke, with arms folded, glanced in Starlos' direction.

"…I take it that ridiculously high pitched voice wasn't you?"

"Dude, I practically sound like an old man. Of course it wasn't me!"

"Then who was it?"

"Me…me…" the voice droned in the dark, forcing the boys to go rigid. "I…didn't mean to…don't tell…"

"…oh my goodness…" Luke trailed, suddenly trembling.

"Don't…tell…" the voice continued, sparks suddenly jetting up the hallway. "DON'T…TELL!"

Luke and Starlos literally screamed when the hall was lit up with electricity, like someone had condensed a thunderstorm in the corridor and turned it up to the eleven. Starlos howled and jumped into Luke's arms, while Luke looked up ahead to try and get a glimpse of anything that he could. In the rapidly flashing lights, he could make out a bit of a face –with was horrendously horrifying- but then the lights themselves suddenly sparked to full capacity, blowing out the light bulbs.

The horde of lightning stopped, leaving the hall in pure darkness and silence, but not knowing whether or not the owner of the face was coming after them, they sprinted down the hall, only for Luke to bump into something. Falling on the floor, the duo screamed again, only to be shushed instantly.

"Stop screaming; you'll give away your position," demanded a young man in a S.T.A.R.'s uniform, with brunette hair, blue eyes, and a medium build. Starlos took one look at the guy and threw a fit.

"…how many mystery people are in this school?!" he hissed, throwing up his arms. Starlos' mouth was then blocked by a black gloved hand, which only made him make a face in response.

"…my, you people are excitable."

"And what kind of 'people' are you?" Luke asked, shuffling away. The strange young man in front of them took a quick bow before standing straight.

"I happen to be Malachi Redfield, a co-op agent working in inter-dimensional affairs, specializing in delicate cases and purging darkness from the world," he explained, winking afterward. "You can call me Mal, though."

"Okay, _Mal_," Starlos scoffed, clearly unimpressed with his resume. "Are you here with Tamsyn, then?"

Mal raised an eyebrow curiously. "You've met my cousin?"

"Yeah, she was helping out our class today, but she was saying something about being called here to take care of a _lurking threat_," Starlos continued. He then gestured down the hall. "I take it that_ thing_ is tied in with all this?"

"Yes, but details are heavily restricted," Mal explained, adjusting the sunglasses on his forehead. "I'm afraid I can't even allow you to disclose what you've just encountered."

"…we don't even _know_ what we just encountered!" Luke exclaimed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that was a specter or something!"

"…still, I _highly_ recommend that you keep this incident under wraps, otherwise you may run into trouble with your higher ups…"

"…Principal Mario?" Luke asked, astonished. "Why would he want to keep all this secret? If anything, he'd be warning us all about it."

"I smell conspiracy!" wailed Starlos, only for Mal to cover his mouth again.

"Look, can you please take me to where Tamsyn is?" Mal asked. "It's imperative that I update her on our situation…"

"Of course; we were just about to head back to class anyway," Luke announced, with Starlos shooting him a dirty look. He got up off the floor and motioned for the other two to follow him; Mal maintained his professionalism, and Starlos couldn't ignore the feeling that something was dangerously wrong. He looked back at the darkened hallway once more, as if the thing they saw would pop back out, and hurried to catch up with Luke.

"Hey," he whispered, leaning in toward the apprentice. "We…ARE going to tell the others about this, right?"

"Of course," Luke murmured lowly. "…but it's imperative that we prevent any of the adults from knowing that were onto this thing…"

Starlos could only nod, but even the small comfort couldn't steel his nerves.

**Janitor's Closet-**

Just a little while later, Tails was back in his "office", staring curiously at the security monitors. Shadow, Ethan, and Falco had informed him earlier of strange happenings, along with Adeleine, yet when Tails had tried to ask Luigi about it, Luigi hesitated incredibly and told him to forget about it.

Naturally, this piqued Tails' undying curiosity.

"Knuckles, what do you think Luigi's hiding?" Tails asked, eyes locked onto the monitors, trying to catch the mysterious speed demon that _didn't _happen to be Sonic. Knuckles was busy trying to get the table to stand back up again from the day's earlier skirmish, so he merely shrugged in response.

"I have no idea, but it isn't like Thunder to keep things away from anyone; he's a pretty open book," Knuckles pointed out as the table crashed to the ground again. Frowning, he tried again. "I just hope this doesn't interfere with the dance."

"Me too," Tails responded as he tugged on his gloves. "We've all worked really hard on it and I'd hate for all that to go to waste…"

"But do you really think whatever's happening could possibly have a bearing on what'll go on later?"

"Knowing us, Knuckles, it's a distinct possibility," Tails concluded. The Miles Electric, sitting by his elbow on the desk, suddenly started blinking, so Tails tapped the screen to see what it was picking up. Knuckles inched closer to see for himself, just as the screen displayed a blue radar, with the outline of Hero High shown as well. Tails raised an eyebrow, zooming in on the curiosity, only to find a moving blue dot working its way down the halls. Tails' eyes widened as he tapped the dot, having his fears recognized, then frantically trying to scope out the monitors again. Knuckles noticed his agitated panic almost immediately.

"Um, Tails? What're you picking up on…?"

"Knuckles," Tails whispered, almost afraid to speak. "…the Master Charm is _in the building_…"

And Knuckles' face promptly blanched.


	7. Opening the Floodgates

Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us

Part 7: Opening the Floodgates

When Luke and Starlos successfully led Mal back to Link's class, they found that the boys had corralled to the sides of the room, but the girls were still dancing and whooping and hollering, aside from Zelda and even Angelina, who looked a little wounded.

And yet, Mal was definitely fascinated.

"Hey, why didn't you two tell me you had such…_interesting_ ladies in your class?" Mal asked, sliding his sunglasses over his face as he slunk into the room. Luke instantly raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me…?"

This went unheard by Mal, as he gradually made his way toward the group of females. Elysia, now back in her zero suit, nudged Lulu, and one by one the rest of the girls noticed the approaching teenager.

"Sorry for the sudden intrusion ladies, but I couldn't help but pass by and notice such a large gathering of ravishing beauty…"

"Please," spat Tenn, adjusting her ponytail.

Angelina perked up instantly, fighting her way to the front and sliding towards Mal.

"Well then, mystery man, I must say that you have _exquisite_ taste!"

She threw a look over to Damien, who was completely indifferent about what was going down. Mal, meanwhile, adjusted his sunglasses again.

"Perhaps I do, because if I didn't know better, I'd think there was an angel right before my eyes."

"Oh, stop…well, I AM an angel, so please do go on…"

"Um, no, I think I'll cut in here," Tamsyn announced, grabbing Mal by the ear and yanking him away. "Before he bamboozles you with his sugar-coated words and purple prose, allow me to introduce my little cousin Malachi."

"But you darlings can call me Mal-OW!"

"Okay, Mal-ow," smirked Zelda, cuing giggles from Elysia and Tenn.

"…he's a bit of a skirt-chaser, but don't expect any commitment," Tamsyn warned, throwing a look over to a starry eyed Angelina. "I'm not kidding."

Tamsyn stood him straight again, prompting him to give a smirk at Lulu, only for Tamsyn to shove his shoulder.

"Cut it_ out_, you. Do you have a lead yet or not?"

Grumbling, Mal composed himself and folded his arms.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I _do_, but we can't discuss it here…"

"Of course," Tamsyn mumbled, preparing to step out the door. Still, at the last second she turned around and waved off the group.

"It was so nice meeting all of you! I had fun today, really!" She then smiled sadly. "Too bad I gotta go and be an adult now, but responsibility calls…"

With the rest of the class bidding them farewell, the duo quickly marched out the door, with Link watching them leave with a suspicious look in his eye. Still, they were gone, and there was little he could do now, so he sighed and dismissed the class just as the bell rang. Naturally, the class was more than ready to head off, but Starlos skid to the front of pack and held out him arms.

"Everyone, stop! I'm calling a class meeting! It's important!"

"Oh, right _now?_ You know I hate being late for class; can't it wait?" asked Pink.

"Yeah, you know _I_ hate being late for Flight Training," Skippy added afterward.

"Please, he's serious; there's something wonky going on, but we've got to head to the lockers," Luke explained. "It's the one blind spot of the security camera, and for whatever reason, we're not supposed to know what we do…"

Starlos turned to Damien and Junichi, both of them suddenly concerned.

"We also have reason to believe that we shouldn't even know about that fire girl…"

"Which is especially plausible, considering Tamsyn's actions during the quiz," Damien reasoned. "Mannerisms that are to be kept secret, coupled with her reaction to my description…"

"…I don't like where any of this is going," Elysia murmured. "I mean, even Luigi was worked up when Damien mentioned it at lunch-"

"Luigi knows?!" Luke exclaimed. "That…can't work in our favor."

"Well if this really does warrant checking out, then yes, let's head to the lockers- I'm curious now," Lulu added. Starlos nodded quickly, and the fifteen of them booked it down the hallway, but none faster than Damien.

**Fifth Period, Anti-Anger Management-**

As per class tradition, entering Ridley's class was destined to depress anyone, as even the slightest glimpse of the purple space dragon was enough to induce despair into anyone.

It's just, this time…Ridley didn't cause it.

"Ah, you all look SO adorable today!" Ridley exclaimed, pleasantly taking in the forlorn looks on everyone's faces. "I sense a particularly good day of class today!"

"Ugh- the day Ridley is in a good mood is a day that I wanna crawl under a rock," murmured Holle, collapsing in a desk in the second row. "It can't be good for anyone's health!"

"Oh, stop; I know you all love me," Ridley insisted, beady eyes turning in Ryker's direction. Ryker returned the gesture far less emotionlessly.

"Just tell us what we're doing today and make it snappy; I can smell your rancid breath all the way from over here," remarked Peri, adjusting her glasses piously. "Two words, breath mint."

"Arrogant snots, the lot of ya…which I appreciate!" Ridley choked on his chain before continuing. "Anyway, maggots, all you have to do is finish the Taunts and Insults homework you started yesterday."

"Well at least we don't have to learn anything new," Junior grumbled, taking out his papers from before. Zeborah sat next to him, staring at her homework with an indiscernible expression. Penji poked at her shoulder to get her to respond, but she was a depressed mess, and there was nothing anyone could do to remove the source…

"But…I can try…" Dash whispered quietly under his breath, also taking note of Zeborah's state of affairs and quickly typing away at his laptop. He knew the chances were ridiculously slim, but if there was even the smallest opportunity of hope….he would find it. Not just for Zeborah, and not just for Connor, but for himself…

And maybe he'd finally figure out what to do with his life.

Holle, meanwhile, was sitting next to Ryker, impatiently frustrated with her own little problems. He'd said he would see about going to the dance, but with an answer like that, it was impossible to weigh its merit, even for the Goddess of the Afterlife. The slightly psychopathic teen was already finished with his assignment, and was in the midst of sharpening his blade.

"Um, Ryker-"

"Yes?" Ryker responded with as much emotion as he could muster. Holle gulped instinctively, but steeled herself and continued the conversation.

"Listen, I know you're…er, genetically designed to be all detached and stuff, but…have you ever thought of _trying_ to change?"

"Why?" Ryker stared at her through pure white bangs. "I've told you before, I'm _okay_. At least I'm _alive_-"

"But you're not who you're supposed to be anymore!" Holle insisted, clenching her staff. "You've never thought of ever trying to correct that?"

"…it's not ideal," Ryker said evenly, dark undertones lying just under the surface of his words. "But who am I to go up against the cost of a second chance?"

Holle sagged dejectedly in her seat, but Ridley's harrowing laugh suddenly cut through the silence of the room, causing her jet black hair to stand outwards. Ridley was cracking up at his desk like he'd just heard some hilarious joke. Ryker noticed the action and narrowed his eyes considerably.

"And what's so funny?" he asked hollowly. Ridley's face gained a huge grin, promptly unsettling Peri.

"Oh, just that the smart-mouthed little goddess thinks she can actually _change_ you, when we both know that's entirely impossible."

Ryker actually growled at the prospect while Holle stood up and challenged Ridley's claim.

"You really believe that, eh?"

"I don't just _believe_, I actually _know_," Ridley insisted, eliciting a cackle afterwards. "Ryker's not exactly adaptable, you know. When his DNA was on the fritz and I reconstructed it with Space Pirate DNA, I didn't exactly leave much room for change…"

"That has nothing to do with it!" Holle exclaimed, hissing and baring deadly fangs. "If Ryker wants to change, then he can, regardless of what his genetic makeup says! I believe personality is in the state of mind, so-"

"Then you are weak!" Ridley barked, making Penji squeak and cower under his desk. "Personality itself is many things, but outside factors have the greatest effect in shaping who we are, and who we _should _be. Isn't that right, Ryker? Go on and tell your little girlfriend that I'm right."

Ryker was silently stabbing his machete into his desk, gritting his teeth menacingly. Ridley was clearly enjoying having the upper hand, and he certainly wasn't through flaunting that particular fact.

"Tell her that you're not ever going be the same again, not now, and certainly not ever! _Isn't that right_?"

"You're wrong!" Holle screeched, turning to Ryker. "You can make your own choice, can't you? Dragon Breath over there can't do anything to you! You may be in his debt, but you don't have to let him hold that over you…"

Ryker was stone-cold and silent as Ridley heckled again, far too happy to be healthy. "Go ahead, Ryker- tell her who's right!"

"…and what if I think she's right?" Ryker asked lowly, orange eyes sparking with fury. He suddenly stood straight, and twin blasters suddenly jetted out of his shoulder pads on his battle suit, prompting Penelope, Penji, and Junior to duck in their seats. "What could you possibly do if I decided to side with her on this one?"

Ryker looked ready to launch the twin cannons that were now conspicuously perched on his shoulders. Ridley's smirk remained on his face as he pressed his hands together as best he could.

"You have no idea how _unbelievably_ happy I am that you asked…"

Before Ryker could even make a move, Ridley had suddenly reached for something under his desk, and within the next moment, a harsh shock rocked through every fiber of Ryker's being, inexplicably being generated by his very own battle suit. Ryker lurched backwards, contorting in an unnatural way as he screamed, and Holle herself had a front row seat to the horror being displayed. The light of the electricity reflected in her eyes and along her staff, until the few antagonizing seconds were over, and Ryker had cascaded onto the floor.

"Hey…HEY!"

Holle was on the ground in an instant, trying to make sure Ryker was okay while Peri fainted at the overbearing emotions the scene had given her weak heart. Penji jumped down to try and help too, and Ridley just chortled all the while.

"As if I'd really let someone utilize my tech in such a way without having a failsafe," he mused, shrugging as best as he could. "While I'm fully confident that Ryker won't ever go against me, just in case something occurs, I can always just _shock_ him back to his senses, ah ha ha."

Ryker managed to push himself up from off the floor, hastily brushing Holle and Penji away. He glared and snarled at Ridley, who callously dismissed it with a wave.

"I'd stop doing that if I were you. I hear excessive shocks consecutively are lethal, as much as I'd LOVE to genuinely see that, you _are_ my right hand man, Ryker. If that blasted Aran does me in again, the entirety of the Space Pirate Legion is under your control."

"A…Aran…"

Ridley's eyes lit up as Holle and Penji assisted Ryker back into his seat. His breathing was faster than usual, but he was otherwise fine. However, whatever Ridley had said managed to strike a chord with him.

"Yes, Ryker. Going against me would be unwise, especially if you ever want to have a chance at getting your revenge…"

"Stop talking!" Holle yelled sharply, her hair rising with anger. "Just stop! Haven't you already done enough?"

"I merely speak the truth," Ridley stated evenly yet callously, only putting Holle even more over the edge. "Ryker can't keep tabs on the Aran clan as well as I can, and if he ever hopes to get back at that heartless murderer who took his parents' lives, then he'd do well not to step against me, otherwise that chance practically goes up in smoke. Elysia's actions nearly killed him once, why would he give her the change to do it again?"

Ridley noticeably kept silent after that, having said all he needed to. Once Ryker was back in his seat, Penji instantly scrambled away, and Holle was left gaping at Ryker. The boy's lips were pressed into a thin line, yet his eyes were just so _angry,_ and Holle didn't know what to say.

"I…must get my revenge…" Ryker grunted lowly under his breath, making Holle's heart sink. "It's the only way…I can have closure…"

"Is there truly no alternate way?" Holle asked quietly, hanging her head slightly. "Is there not a different way to outlet your anger?"

"If there is, it's not for me," Ryker grumbled, actually putting his helmet on for once. "Now…just leave me alone. Stop talking to me. Just for a while."

His expression was hidden behind his helmet, so it was impossible for Holle to read him, so she turned away and face forward, acknowledging his wishes. She found Ridley toiling away at a paper on his desk, while Zeborah, Junior, Penji, and Peri were curiously looking back at her from the front row, all of them concerned. Holle just twisted up her face at them and sneered back.

"What?" she spat acidly.

The four of them instantly whipped around their chairs and pretended to preoccupied while Holle frowned and slammed her forehead against the desk.

Steelo, sitting two rows behind her with the rest of his posse, simply twirled his pencil between his fingers.

"Well…that's certainly an interesting development."

**Fifth Hour, Lockers-**

After gathering at the lockers, the hero students all huddled up into a circle, each of them double checking over their shoulders to make sure no adults were lurking about. Finally taking a deep breath and feeling it was safe to speak, Damien stepped forward.

"It's about time we all get on the same page about all this…" he began, regal and dignified as ever. "The bottom line is, something is happening in this school, and apparently we're not to know anything about it."

"Sorry for the question, but, um, what _exactly_ is going on?" asked Alph.

"Yeah, I'm the school gossip, and I hardly even know what's up," Angelina interjected, although she still sounded a bit dejected from earlier.

"Today, I've learned that there's a girl in this school that doesn't belong here," Damien explained. "She keeps approaching me like she wants something, but before I can ever get close she sprints away."

"And he's not just seeing things," Junichi added shyly. "She comforted me at lunch time, and she's really pretty and really nice, from what I could see anyway…"

"So I guess that means she's not a threat," Skippy stated with relief.

"Yeah, but when Luigi overheard Damien and I discussing it, he started acting super suspicious," Elysia pointed out. "He seemed kind of disturbed at us mentioning her fire…"

"And that girl's not the only one- me and Luke saw someone in the hallway to the cafeteria, and whoever it was had knocked out the power in the entire corridor!" Starlos exclaimed. "There was this really creepy high-pitched voice and sparks everywhere-!"

"It couldn't have been the same girl, could it?" Pink asked hand on her hip. Purple shrugged.

"Hey, maybe she's got like a dual personality or something. Like, she's one way in the light, and goes insane in the dark!"

Everyone fell quiet and gave Purple disbelieving looks.

"…what? I don't hear anyone_ else_ coming up with anything!"

"While I think it's highly improbable for the girl I saw to be a, er, shocking psychopath-"

"Because you're mystified by her mystery, intrigue, and unparalleled beauty-" Zelda interrupted, only for Damien to glower at her.

"Ugh, stop! I don't know her, let alone like her!"

Angelina folded her arms and huffed while Marcus scratched the back of his neck.

"I dunno bro, if what you say is true, then clearly that girl's been strictly after you…"

"None of this is the point!" Damien exclaimed hastily, making his sister snicker. "She has to be here for a reason-"

"Yet the office faculty wants to keep this a secret, while also hiring Mal and Tamsyn to get rid of her, so there's something they firmly don't want us to find out, nor do they want us interacting with that girl," Luke finished, eyes closed and a hand on his chin. "I believe it's strictly the office that wants this to stay hidden, as Link himself wasn't even aware of what was going on when Tamsyn arrived, nor did he know the details of why she was there."

"Not only that, but Mal was stern on us not telling anybody what we saw in the hall, which means _that's _also related to everything," pointed out Starlos. "Not that we listened, but-"

"That's because something fishy is going on, and if it's being kept from us then I'm inclined to believe it's something worth looking into," Luke announced.

"What, you got it figured out already, Luke?" Coby asked, and Luke decomposed on the spot.

"Wh-what?! No! I'm still relatively in the dark…I don't exactly have 'Layton's Infamous Intuition', you know. I can't think _that_ far ahead…"

"Just thought I'd ask," Coby murmured.

"Um, can I say something?" Lulu wondered. "If we're not even supposed to know all this, then shouldn't we not pry? I mean, what if it's something really bad and they're just trying to protect us?"

"She does have a point," Skippy and Alph stated immediately.

Tenn adjusted her visor and frowned. "Well…this actually kind of falls into the realm of what my brother had been trying to say."

At the mention of Ninty, everyone grew unsettled, especially Luke.

"Remember, he was saying that heroes aren't entirely made of light, just like how villains weren't entirely dark…I mean, I firmly believe that they only have our best interests in mind, but…to keep us in the dark about something that could possibly hurt us…?"

"We're not the confused kids we were at the start of the year; we can handle ourselves!" declared Zelda, raising her sword high.

"And besides, when Luke had that hunch about Ninty, it turned out there was something darker going on behind the scenes, and the adults had been trying to cover it up," Damien pointed out, with Luke pulling his cap over his eyes. "If this turns out to be repeat of that, I'd hate to see what would happen."

"…bottom line is, we don't what we're up against, and we can't let anyone outside of us become aware that we know what we do, not beyond who does already," Luke confirmed. "Best case scenario is that it's nothing, but after seeing that scene in the hall…let's just all be careful."

"It's about the best we can do," Elysia stated, before everyone unanimously agreed that they should hurry up to class. Everyone darted in different directions, rushing to their respective classrooms, and soon enough, the area in front of the lockers was empty.

Except for the girl with the red fan.

It was literally on fire, perched in her shaking gloved hand as she had observed what had taken place. Her emotions were all over the place and her thoughts were muddled, but one thing was definitely clear as she spoke it out loud:

"They're onto us…they're ALL onto us…"

**Fifth Hour, Flight Training- **

Elysia, Skippy, Alph, and Lulu made it to Fox McCloud's classroom with time to spare. In fact, Fox himself hadn't even arrived yet, nor was Falco anywhere to be found. Thrilled at not being late, the four took some deep breaths and plopped on the ground.

"Whew! With all that's going on, I can't help but be on edge about everything…" Skippy trailed nervously.

"It really does stink that all this stuff is happening on the night of the dance," Elysia stated. Lulu threw up her hands.

"I know! It's like we can't do anything around here! Can't have a first day without a villain attack, can't have a Power Ball match without some neutral jacking things up…"

"Ah, I keep forgetting about the dance," mused Skippy, turning to Elysia. "Are you going with anyone particular, Elysia?"

"Nah, just going to go with the team," Elysia mumbled. "I…actually thought about going with Purple, but we all know how crazy he is over Pink-"

"Mysteriously except for Pink," grumbled Lulu.

"But Purple was too insecure to work up the courage to ask her, and now he doesn't even know she's going with someone else already," Alph hummed.

"And…no one bothered to tell him?" Elysia asked in disbelief. Skippy suddenly recoiled.

"No one wanted to be the poor sucker to deliver THAT message…"

Elysia frowned and cringed, grabbing her arm. "Oh man…"

"Someone needs to give that boy some romance advice," Lulu scoffed, shaking her head.

"Did someone say romance advice?" The four turned to face Fox strolling in with Falco in tow. Fox waved eagerly as he returned. "Sorry I'm late- Falco was just showing me something important on the security camera. Weird things going on in the halls, including a fuse going out in the cafeteria's corridor…"

"That…is surprising…" Skippy blatantly lied, and while the other three students hung their heads in embarrassment, it simply sailed over Fox's head.

"Anyway, since you're interested in romance advice, I'm happy to tell you that you've come to just the right place!"

"We have?" Lulu asked wearily. Fox nodded.

"But of course! There's no one more educated on the vast world of love than yours truly!"

"Uh huh," Falco guffawed in the background, with Fox grimacing. "Don't let him lie, kids. As soon as Krystal came into his life, he was smitten hard. And afterwards he could barely get his words straight!"

"That's so not true," Fox insisted with a huff, turning away to hide his forming blush.

"Come on, even _Tricky_ could see it-"

"_Stop_," Fox interrupted, waving his hands about. "Anyway, what's the problem resting on all your minds?"

"What should a boy do when he really likes a girl but yet somehow can't spit it out?" Skippy blurted out, with Lulu sighing and hanging her head. Fox opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Falco's sudden and abrupt laughter.

"Heh heh, you're_ so_ talking to the _wrong_ person-"

"Darn it, Falco!" Fox hissed, swatting at the bird before he finally backed off. "Look, kids, you're still young, and seeing as you're the next generation of heroes, love is something that should be at the back of your mind."

"That didn't answer my question," pouted Skippy.

"Yeah Mister McCloud, that was complete avoidance," scoffed Alph. Fox eventually threw up his hands and exasperated, sending Falco into another fit of snickering.

"There's not really a right answer, you know. Sometimes it's easy for people to confess their feelings, and sometimes it's just not. What works for someone might not work for someone else, but the best thing you can do is just try. All in all, if things are meant to be, they'll work themselves out eventually…"

Fox paused for a moment, frowning and shrugging.

"…and then again, sometimes it just doesn't."

Fox then clapped his hands and snapped the room out of its suddenly sullen mood, brightening up instantly.

"Okay! Anyway, I think we'll start today off with a quick review of our Flight Emergency Procedures, and then work on our advanced evasive techniques. It's been a while since we've brushed up on those…"

Elysia, Lulu, Alph, and Skippy groaned, but the four of them eventually picked themselves up off the ground and trotted over to the training Arwings, feeling even more in the dark than before.

**Fifth Period, Principal's Office-**

As the rest of the class toiled away on their homework, Darcy had slunk out unnoticed by Ridley, creeping down the hallway with silence in her steps. There really was no need to be so careful now, as she'd only really need her cunning when it came to extracting the files. There was no way Bowser was just going to let her waltz in and start shuffling through the school's most dangerous files!

She'd prove Steelo and Ninty wrong, and maybe even show Dash in the process…

The door to the Principal's Office creaked open (Bowser claimed that there wasn't enough money in the budget for oil) but nothing happened immediately, so Darcy poked her head in and took a good look around. Actually, she'd never been in there before, so taking in everything was more daunting that she anticipated. For an office, it was actually pretty small, although Bowser's own personal room was separate from the office itself by a frosted glass door.

In the actual office, there was a small brown desk with a computer on top of it, and…someone sitting there?

Darcy had to duck low to survey the man without being spotted, not liking the unexpected detour. He was at the very computer she needed to infiltrate, and for whatever reason she had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy to move that red and purple coat, awkward physique, and that wiry mustache. She tried to throw together a plan in her mind, but the constant "click…click…click…" of the keyboard was driving her mad and she didn't know how much longer she could maintain her focus. Eventually she took a deep breath- acting irrationally would just land her in trouble. She decided to try a more…Steelo-esque approach.

"Hello there."

She arose out of her hiding spot and walked in casually, the man's rather tired yet attentive eyes darting in her direction. A finger twirled its way into his mustache as he sat up straight to address the wolf.

"Nyeh heh heh, I didn't even hear you come in. You're that Wolf's niece, aren't you? What can I help you with?"

He seemed relatively polite, but then again, he wouldn't be in Villain Prep if he was a goody two shoes…

"I haven't seen you before," Darcy stated truthfully, eyeing him cautiously once again. "Are you new?"

"Nyeh heh heh, of course not! I've been here the whole time!" the man cackled as he adjusted his teal tie, only confusing Darcy even more. "…I do all the night shift jobs around the school- you know, janitor, technician, all that stuff. Just got promoted to secretary couple weeks back."

"I…still don't know who you are…" Darcy trailed, and the man suddenly flashed out of his seat, striking a rather dynamic pose.

"Why, child, I am the great Don Paolo, known by no other name!" he cried, causing Darcy to instantly recoil. "In all the time I've been here, no one's even mentioned my glorious presence?! _Bah_."

He then sat back down in the chair and whirled it around to face Darcy, lacking his black gloved fingers together piously.

"But I could go on for _days_ about me, telling you my life story of how I was so shamelessly robbed of happiness by that infernal Professor Layton…but I can easily tell that's not why you're here," Don announced, mustache twitching. "I can tell that you've got something big cooking up, especially if it's lured you into my company. So again, whaddya need kid?"

Darcy's eyes glanced for the slightest of moments at the computer, recalling her mission but no longer so sure she could complete it properly. Tricking this Don Paolo would be next to impossible considering she hardly knew the first thing about the guy…

"Let's speed up the process there, kiddo- time isn't infinite," Don huffed, now drumming his fingers on the desk. "I don't particularly like typing away like this, but…eh, it pays the bills."

"I just...needed to use the computer," Darcy stated, carefully fabricating a believable story. "Ridley's got us doing this heinous project, and my computer isn't functioning right for whatever reason…I only need to print off a file from my jump drive, that's all."

"Hrrngh, I guess I could let you. Far be it from me to hinder academic progress," Don Paolo grumbled, pushing his chair away from the desk and gesturing to the computer. "Make it snappy, though."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Darcy announced, slamming the jump dive into the port and instantly diving into the computer's files. She was constantly checking over her shoulder every moment, making sure that Don Paolo wasn't giving her too much attention –he was suddenly combing his mustache while staring into a hand mirror- before heading into Villain Prep's top secret documents. There was nothing of terrible interest aside from extensive profiles on the Villain Prep students themselves along with documents on the adult heroes…but she finally found what she was hunting for, quickly copying it and pasting it into her jump drive. Almost too easy…

Afterwards, she printed off something for assurance, then hastily thanked Don Paolo and darted out of the room. Don grunted something under his breath as he returned to the computer, absentmindedly closing out everything Darcy had opened without a second thought.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he happened to catch the page that Darcy had printed off, dangling in her hand…

It was blank.

**Fifth Hour, Specialized Training-**

Zelda, Angelina, Luke, Marcus, Damien, and Junichi waltzed into Miss Aran's class with limited enthusiasm, as her class was _hard_. Being exposed to new situations and challenges every day was taxing, although they couldn't complain- Samus had had it much worse.

"So how about that dance, guys?" Marcus spoke up, trying to break up the tense atmosphere that the "class meeting" has brought.

"I'm still looking forward to it," Junichi just about whispered, but Damien was lost in thought, Luke was suddenly biting his lip, Zelda looked dangerously indifferent, and Angelina was just about ready to tear her Fortune Bow in two. Marcus blinked at that and took a step back.

"Whoa, Angie, what's got your wings in a bunch?"

"Argh, I…I…" Angelina scowled and looked away, frowning. "…I can't say it here…"

"All right then," Marcus shrugged, as Zelda slid over to Luke and nudged him knowingly.

"Eh heh, heard you managed to snag a date to the dance, Luke," she sneered, and Luke immediately went red in the face. "I see you like playing with fire, there-"

"I was asked, not the other way around! I just want to make that perfectly clear!" Luke stammered.

"Women are still quite the mystery," commented Damien, shaking his head. "Tis why I chose to go alone-"

"You just have a shoddy taste in girls," Angelina sneered, with Marcus and Zelda whistling in the background. "A perfectly fine good girl asks you to the dance and yet you're enraptured by some girl who may or may not exist!"

"She does!" Damien insisted.

"And why are you so adamant about it?! Who cares if she's real or not? She's not one of us, is she?"

"But I think she needs my help, but for whatever reason she can't be around me for too long," Damien announced, going red in the face. "And I…I can't ignore that. Especially if it's only something I can help with-"

"Eh, whatever, calm down Angelina," Zelda announced, waving her hand about. "Even if he's got a little crush on this mystery girl, it's not like he's going to the dance with her. He already said that."

Both Damien and Angelina were about to protest to different parts of the claim when Samus arrived, and all of them instantly snapped their mouths shut.

"Afternoon, Cadets," Samus announced, marching in with her helmet tucked contritely under her arm. "I see that you're all thrilled as usual to be here."

"I guess our levels of enthusiasm are inadequate," shrugged Zelda. "But hey, are you chaperoning tonight, Miss Aran?"

"I don't have much of a choice," Samus mumbled, sliding her helmet onto her head. "If I don't, I'll get stuck cleaning up afterward. As of right now, that's Moe's job. And as far I'm concerned, I don't really want to change that."

The small group of students had to shrug and agree with that.

"Anyway, I'm really glad that the dance tonight hasn't entirely gone to your heads, because we've got some rigorous things to do today," Samus announced, a dangerous grin on her face. "I've got spike pits, laser rooms, lava chambers, and a death gauntlet planned today!"

"Quick. Someone…stall her…" Marcus hissed not-so subtly. Everyone traded relatively nervous looks before Angelina's scowl suddenly turned into an interested grin. She hovered over to Samus' shoulder and leaned on it deviously.

"You know, before we begin, I have a question I want to ask, though it's been bugging me for the longest time…" she trailed, drawing out the suspense. "…Miss Aran, how'd you meet Elysia's father?"

Zelda's jaw dropped, Damien's eyes bugged out, Junichi passed out, Luke pulled his hat over his eyes, and Marcus was yanking on his fur.

"That is NOT what I meant…!"

"I must admit, the question has been nagging me too," mused Zelda, twirling her sword.

"B-But that's far too personal of a question to ask school faculty!" exclaimed Damien.

"Especially Samus," Luke murmured, kneeling down trying to get Junichi to come to.

"…nah, that's a pretty easy question to answer," Samus finally spoke up, nearly knocking Damien out with the shock. "You all know I met Anthony back in my days of being in the Galactic Federation Army, right? Anthony happened to be in my squad and we've been friends ever since. Anthony's always been there for me, no matter what, and no matter how much time has passed."

"Fair enough answer," Damien announced, pulling Angelina away before she could pry anymore. However, she'd already gotten started, and there was no way she was backing out now.

"Okay…but how did it, you know, _escalate_?"

"Oh, the lack of tact," Luke winced as Samus raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's plain to see that you're best friends and whatnot…but 'just friends' don't end up with a teenage daughter, eh?"

Samus was noticeably silent, and Angelina couldn't contain a squeal.

"I knew it! I knew I smelled a conspiracy…!"

The angel excitedly flew around while Zelda, Damien, Luke, and Marcus gave Samus dubious looks. Samus then rested her chin on her free hand and she contemplated the issue.

"Hmm. If you're that interesting in knowing, then I guess you won't be opposed to a little…challenge?"

"Nope, _very_ opposed," Marcus quipped. Samus' originally unsure expression had been replaced with a far more dangerous one as she sauntered over to the wall and patted her hand against the master control switch.

"Say, if you guys manage to make it through today's gauntlet in one piece, then maybe I'll shed a little more light on the issue," she suggested. Damien proceeded to raise an eyebrow.

"And if by some unfortunate decision of chance we don't…?"

"I'm thinking a two percent decrease in your grades."

Damien suddenly jumped on the nearest object and held his head high in the air. "We _will_ get through this gauntlet…! For the grades!"

"For the scandal!" whooped Angelina, suddenly a lot spunkier. Junichi finally came to after hearing her angelic wails, and asked Luke what was going on.

"…we just made a bet with _Samus Aran,"_ he replied hesitantly. Junichi blanched.

"…I think I'll go back to lying on the ground-"

"Never!" roared Damien, swooping over to Junichi and nearly hitting the hedgehog with the backlash of his cape. "Our grades are on the line, and I can't afford a single percent! I'm already behind thanks to that day I was sick! Even my perfect attendance has been shattered!"

"Such a drama queen," grumbled Zelda, shaking her head. She then brandished her sword and struck a ready stance. "Anyway, bring it on, Miss Aran. We can totally handle whatever you throw at us!"

"What she said!" Marcus exclaimed, regaining his resolve after seeing that there was no way out of it. "S'not like you'd go out of your way to truly do us in, would you?"

"You severely underestimate me then," Samus hummed as she threw the switches. "Heroes don't have challenges made easy on them- one moment they could be in a crisp green meadow with rainbows and all of a sudden a bloody demonic eyeball is floating around in the sky trying to annihilate everything!"

"…wasn't that in Kirby's world though?" Luke asked, with Samus shrugging.

"That only proves it happens to everybody."

The room then shifted and shook, transforming into a deadly maze of Samus' own design. The students all huddled together as Samus suddenly disappeared from their view, though her voice could still be heard echoing through the corridor.

"Good _luck."_

"That was not praise," scoffed Angelina as the room stopped shifting, leaving them stuck in a dark metal room. Marcus knocked on one of the walls, and the sound that echoed came off as solid.

"Well, she locked us in here, that's for sure," he hummed readying his blaster. "…we just have to get out of here, right?"

"It won't be as easy as that last time," muttered Zelda. "I doubt that we'll have to overcome unique challenges this time…"

"Well darn- I was really looking forward to solving a puzzle," pouted Luke as the group trotted in, with Damien naturally at the front and Junichi taking up the back.

**Fifth Period, Anti-Anger Management-**

Back in Ridley's class, the atmosphere was still relatively awkward, but Steelo seemed perfectly undeterred by it, already calculating how the crippling disarray of events could lead to his advantage. Specifically, he had a careful eye on Holle and Ryker, seeing as Holle was neutral by default (and she claimed to be a "neutral party working for good yet supporting shades of evil") and Ryker's apathy would be a fine addition to the team. Steelo was pretty confident that he could pull off his scheme with Ninty, Penelope, and Darcy alone, but a little extra muscle would prove to be handy, just in case. All he had to do was convince Ryker, and Holle would follow along like a dog on a leash, only making everything that much easier…

Zeborah was useless, Junior despised the group, Penji was too good, Peri was too weak, Dash was all over the place, and Steelo personally didn't know what was up with Connor. Connor was proving to be the unexpected third party- either he was already out of the picture, or he was going to pose a serious threat.

"Eh, I'll take care of him eventually," Steelo murmured under his breath, just as Darcy slunk back into the classroom undetected by Ridley. She casually seated herself next to Steelo, then tossed him the jump drive without so much as a look. Ninty lifted his head from his game to gape at Darcy.

"Holy crow, you actually did it."

"Duh," Darcy spat, resorting to sharpening her claws. "Had to get past the new secretary, but it was no biggie."

Penelope blinked as Steelo passed her the drive. "We have a secretary now?"

"Apparently he's been here the whole time, but usually works the night shift doing odd jobs."

"He sounds like a weirdo," grunted Ninty, returning to his game moments later. Darcy simply shrugged.

Meanwhile, Steelo leaned over Penelope's shoulder to get a quick glimpse of what she was doing. Almost instantly she managed to get through the encryption, and was now sorting through what was important. Eventually curiosity got the best of Darcy and she looked too, a small smirk creeping onto Steelo's face.

"I knew you'd be interested."

Darcy instantly flashed her fangs and stammered. "W-Well, if I was going to steal something, then I might as well see what it is!"

"Fair enough."

They watched as 1's and 0's turned into a jumbled mess of letters and numbers on the screen before actual coherent info was displayed on Penelope's advanced screen. Once it had all loaded, Penelope then dumped it into a fresh document, shredding the original file to hide that it had been on her computer. Steelo also took the no longer needed jump drive and proceeded to snap it, eliminating all traces.

"…all right, we are definitely in, folks," Penelope announced, scrolling through the text. "I'll admit, Eggman had a pretty complex algorithm, but he put a pattern in it, which I was able to crack, thank you."

"Enough ego-stroking, did you find anything useful yet?" Ninty complained.

"If you'd give me a chance to look, French Fry-"

"French Fry?" Steelo and Darcy snorted at the same time. Penelope snickered as Ninty instantly whisked his head up.

"Oh shut up, Penelope! That was two years ago!"

"You had a little incident I take it?" Darcy smirked. Ninty went back to his handheld.

"Nope, I'm _not_ going to feed your curiosity. Just get the info we need, _Pork Chop_."

Darcy couldn't resist laughing at that one; Penelope just stuck her tongue in her cheek as she kept scrolling. Steelo coughed and turned away awkwardly.

"…I see you two have an enriching history," he commented quietly. Penelope snorted.

"Eh, I've lived next door to them ever since I moved to Podunk when I was five. I was in Tenn's class for the longest time, and we'd fight a lot, which made Ninty not like me. Believe it or not, the two used to be really close."

"I _don't_ believe it," Darcy announced arrogantly, with Ninty increasing the grip on his handheld as his expression contorted. Steelo waved a hand at them before gesturing to Penelope to continue.

"Anyway, where things really went wrong was during this one field trip to an experimental factory. There were tests and research on anything imaginable, and naturally, something of that caliber would produce a lot of toxic waste," she began again, narrowing her eyes. "We were bickering as usual as we crossed over one of the walkways, overseeing where they stored all that waste. I remember I was making fun of Tenn for looking like a boy, and I remember that she went one fat joke too far-!"

Penelope accidentally hit the keyboard a little too hard, making the others jump. She composed herself and apologized.

"Anyway, I went in to punch her, but she countered with freaking PK Thunder and shot me right over the edge of the walkway!"

Steelo's eyes bugged out while Ninty simply scoffed.

"…and I landed in a vat of that toxic waste. The workers below saw me falling and managed to get me out pretty quickly, but it_ burned_."

"Whoa, radioactive goo?" cooed Darcy. "Ooh, did you turn into a Chimera or something?"

"Does it look like it, stupid?" Penelope hissed back, shaking her head. "No, there wasn't enough time for anything major to happen, but it did stunt my growth. I'm actually sixteen, though I don't look like it."

Steelo of all people was floored. "Whaaaaaat? Dude, you look like you're _eight_!"

Ninty burst out into laughter while Darcy joined him on snickering. Penelope glowered at all of them and banged her fists on the table.

"Shut up! I'm physically thirteen-"

"Not with that baby face-" sneered Darcy.

"-but I've been that way for three years."

Ninty and Darcy were having trouble stifling their laughter as Steelo composed himself.

"I apologize for my insensitive outburst. You just caught me off guard," he explained, with Penelope incoherently grunting afterward. "But isn't that just so unfair? Tenn doing that to you and getting away scott free as a hero?"

"All just because it was an 'accident'," Penelope sighed. "But whatever, that's not important now, because we've just hit the big one…!"

The conversation died instantly as Steelo shoved Darcy and Ninty out of his way for a closer look. The duo on the floor grunted before picking themselves up and squeezing in where they could.

"Okay, the Discipline Chamber is five floors underground. Its entrance is hidden somewhere in Bowser's Office, with each floor only being unlocked by a vocal password," Penelope read. "The first password is Ridley's, then Dedede's, Eggman's, Ganondorf's, and finally Bowser's, and the entrance to the chamber itself must be opened with a combo of an Access Key from Bowser, Gerudo Flame from Ganondorf, a Chaos Drive from Eggman, a Brooch from Dedede, and a scale from Ridley."

"Wow, they _really_ don't want anyone taking the Discipline Core," whistled Ninty. "It's similar to the Harmony Vault, but a lot more steps…"

"Discipline Core?" Darcy questioned, but she was ignored as Penelope spoke up again.

"Not to mention harder. Vocal passwords? Holy cow."

"I have a feeling I'll be able to weasel it out of them," Steelo assured, spinning a Pokéball on his finger. "As for the objects, they shouldn't be too difficult to obtain. We'll just need to get a little creative…"

"Good heavens," hissed Ninty. "We just learned about all of this! What crazy plan have you got already?!"

"At ease, Ninty, you're getting ahead of yourself; we don't have to raid the Discipline Chamber right this instant, though I do have a fledging plan in mind. In fact, I do have a _much_ more suitable date in mind for its execution," Steelo mused with a dark smirk. "However, what we should be focusing on right now is getting the Master Charm to get into the Harmony Vault. With Hero High's dance masquerade tonight, that will be the perfect chance to get into the school without drawing suspicion and allow us to search for info."

"…Hero High's having a dance?" Darcy asked, which Ninty and Penelope nodded reluctantly. Steelo tipped his hat and beamed at the wolf.

"Yep, and we're all going as a group! You're welcome to join if you like."

"…and this is for your big vault raiding scheme, yes?" Darcy confirmed.

"Predominantly, yes," he admitted, before pulling the brim of his fedora over his eyes and grinning deviously. "However…I might 'pick up' a little pink prize I've had my eye on for some time while I'm there. Should be interesting."

Ninty, Darcy, and Penelope had no idea what was brewing under that silver cap of his, though part of them didn't really want to know…

. . .

On the other side of the room, Dash was still engulfed in his research, while Peri, Penji, Junior, and Zeborah were definitely off put by the event with Holle and Ryker. However, Zeborah was rapidly tapping her desk in thought with the tip of her pencil, and the constant clicking was driving Junior nuts.

"_Stop_!" wailed the Koopa Prince, throwing his arms into the air and drawing everyone's attention by making a scene. He sneered at Zeborah before burying his face into his work. Zeborah then hung her head and grimaced.

"Sorry," Zeborah murmured, balling her fists into her lap. "…but I can't take this anymore."

"Take _what_?" Junior huffed, not wanting to get into it again. "With you, that can mean anything!"

"I mean that I'm done with all this evading of Connor! Now that we know he's got some weird disorder, maybe that can help us figure out why he suddenly pulled away from us all. I mean, the kid's a genius- if we were able to discover what we did on the _internet_, then surely he's aware of what he has…"

"Which then begs the question of what you're going to do about it, because all your previous attempts have worked so far," Junior sarcastically remarked. Zeborah's fists clenched tighter.

"Guess I'll have to take a page out of my old man's book…and intimidate him."

Concern flashed across Junior's face before he shook his head and returned to his own devices. Both Penji and Peri stared at Zeborah with wide eyes as she took a deep breath and started chanting to herself. After she was mentally convinced, she suddenly flew out of her seat, the chair flying backward and the desk nearly tipping over. Junior cringed and made a face, but in the next moment, Zeborah was sashaying down the rows of desks over to Connor. He was working furiously, but a quick roll of his blue gaze was met with Zeborah's gold one.

"May I_ help_ you?"

"We're going to talk. Now," Zeborah stated. Connor merely raised an eyebrow and turned away.

"Hmm, a demand and not a pleading question? That's not like you at all."

"_You're_ not like you at all!" Zeborah's voice rose in tone as she drew her swords. "The new you refuses to listen to me…so I'll just have to make a new _me_."

Connor's eyes widened slightly before he was suddenly tipped out of his chair, the collar of his jacket catching on the point of one of Zeborah's swords. Zeborah then wedged him into the wall, hesitating for nothing. Connor simply let himself dangle, not even attempting to escape.

"…you and I both know you won't do anything drastic," Connor huffed darkly, tossing his hair and frowning. "Restraining me is unnecessary at that. I want nothing from you."

Penji and Peri were hiding their faces behind books trying to pretend like they didn't know what was going on, while Junior threw up his hands in frustration- so much for finishing his work.

"But I have your attention, and there's one more thing I want to know from you," Zeborah demanded, holding her other sword dangerously close to Connor's stomach. "I want to know the truth, Connor. I want to know why you've isolated yourself from us all."

"…I have no idea what you're getting at," Connor insisted, maintaining a poker face. "I've…always been detached."

"Lies," Zeborah snapped, coming down from her façade. "We all respected you Connor, but after the day of the Power Ball match, you've become a whole new person! But…I know you're doing it on purpose."

Dash glanced up from his computer now, watching as Connor remained straight faced. "And what makes you think I'm faking it? As far as I'm concerned, I've always been this way, and after Darcy's little tantrum, I decided you all were unfit to mingle with me and I showed my true colors."

"If that was the case, then you wouldn't have been briefly 'back to normal' in my dad's class or during lunch," Zeborah pointed out, dropping her sword. "Whether you're faking it or not, the real you is still lurking around in you somewhere, and I will figure out how to bring him back."

"Are you absolutely certain you want to do that?" Connor asked, tilting his head up. "Would everything turn out as peachy keen as you so ignorantly anticipate?"

Zeborah glanced at the floor. "You know, maybe not. Maybe I'm wrong in pursing this…maybe it will bring out something bad for me…"

She picked her head back up, matching her stare to Connor's.

"But even I get hurt, I'd like to know the truth, as painful as it may be…especially if your secrets are going to divide us…"

The whole class was silent, intently listening in for Connor's eventual response. Connor's head hung for the longest time, contemplating the thought. Soon enough, he reached up with his right hand and grabbed the handle of Zeborah's sword, yanking it out of the wall as he landed sharply on his feet. Zeborah instantly flinched as Connor held the sword out in front of him, afraid he'd attack…but instead, he dropped it to the ground, kicking it back into her possession.

"…very well. A pursuit of truth is a noble cause indeed, and I cannot deny you that, even if my efforts to protect you from it would be rendered in vain," he sighed, holding up a hand and shaking his head. "But you're as stubborn as your father I'm afraid, and I've already challenge enough Dragmires for one day…"

"Connor…"

Connor merely gestured to the door, and instantly Zeborah started walking toward it. Junior then got defensive and slammed his fists on the table.

"Hey, how come the rest of us can't hear this oh so important secret?!"

Connor glanced over his shoulder and mustered a weak smile. "You didn't ask."

Junior gaped at the response, but before Connor could make his exit, a sudden fireball blocked his path. Turning back, he found Ridley throwing a fit behind his desk.

"No one walks out of MY classroom without MY say so! The nerve of you maggots, thinking you can skirt about the rules like you can do whatever you want, but not on my watch! I'll- GACK!"

Ridley had swallowed something out of the blue and started sputtering unceremoniously; Connor noticed Holle blowing smoke off the end of her finger.

"That one's free, dastard," Holle said emptily, sliding her amber gaze over to Connor. "…you go do what you need to. None of us really need to pry."

As Ridley fell over writhing in pain, Connor made sure to slip out the door. He found Zeborah impatiently waiting with a tapping foot, apparently still choosing to face this with her "intimidating" mindset. Connor stared at her hesitantly before heaving a sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Where to start with this…"

"You can tell me if you have Malign Hypercognition Disorder like we suspect you do," Zeborah suggested. Connor initially grimaced and grabbed his head, but he nodded.

"…yes, it's true. And also as you suspected, it runs in the Robotnik line."

Zeborah's stance broke a bit. "Hey, wait, how'd you know-?"

"You're not very subtle while researching things- I'm sure they could've heard you all the way in Pufftop," remarked Connor, and Zeborah guiltily hung her head. "And yes, it's true that there's no cure. This is something I am forced to live with."

Zeborah felt like he was physically punching her, but she forged on like she said she would. "Connor…why didn't you tell anyone sooner? Don't you remember, just before the Power Ball match…I told you that you could tell me anything so why…why not this? We would've understood- you wouldn't have had to face this alone!"

"I…desperately wanted to, but…" Connor closed his eyes. "…I was afraid."

"_You_?" Zeborah gasped, recoiling at the very thought. Connor gave her a look. "What in the worlds would bring _that_ on?!"

"To answer that…would require going to back to the beginning. It's a rather unfortunate tale, one I don't like to tell, but as it's true I cannot turn a blind eye to it in good conscience," Connor explained, chuckling in hindsight afterward. "…as if I HAVE a good conscience…"

Zeborah frowned, but braced herself and stood taller. "I told you that I'm always willing to listen, and I won't go back on that now."

"…very well," Connor hummed, folding his arms behind his back and beginning to pace the hall. He grimaced in thought, but Zeborah waited patiently as he worked up the strength to explain. "…as we established, the disorder I possess had been in the DNA of my male ancestors. Most notably, my grandfather of many greats Professor Gerald, my great uncle Doctor Robotnik, my grandfather, my father's older brother, my father himself, and of course, me…"

He bit his gloved thumb after this, wondering how to put the rest tactfully.

"Basically it's the gene for evil genius syndrome- anyone with it gains incomparable intelligence, at the cost of forsaking using that intelligence for good. Gerald built the Space Colony ARK and the Eclipse Cannon with good intentions that turned dark…Ivo having accomplished many feats in his lifetime for the purpose of conquering…my grandfather devoted his time to crafting mass bioweapons, my uncle went bigger and had a plan to toss my world right out of its orbit…and my father…my father was_ too_ brilliant; dangerously so…"

He regretfully turned to Zeborah, looking incredibly depressed.

"The disorder had hit him the hardest. He was far smarter than any Robotnik to ever live…and this was proven by the fact that he had not only managed to recreate the atomic bomb to go off at a_ galactic_ scale…but was also to develop the technology to reverse engineer a black hole, one capable of devouring entire dimensions…"

"That's….that's TOO far!" Zeborah shrieked, stepping back. "How….how can someone even DO that…?!"

Connor shrugged. "No one else in my family knows. Both of my uncles and my grandfather poured over his notes and the invention itself, but couldn't figure out how he had managed to do it or how it functioned…they just knew that it could _work_. It's destroyed now, and while it's for the best, I don't think my father would have been pleased…"

Zeborah raised her eyebrows as she looked back at Connor. "H-Hey…how come you keep referring to your dad in past tense…?"

"The disorder…it had such a heavy effect on him that his mental thought process actually overtook the part of his brain that controlled involuntary functions of his body," Connor explained, eyes closed and hands behind his head. "Basically he was so obsessed with his desire to, quite literally, destroy the universe that it turned into a physical need- he _needed_ to scheme, work and plot…and the moment he stopped for whatever reason was the moment he died. Mom was _devastated_, and_ never _the same again. And that was when I was sent off to live with, erm, 'Eggman'."

Zeborah chose _not _to ask about his mother.

"In any case, through my research, I found something startling," Connor continued rather calmly, although he had to face away from Zeborah. "As the disorder is passed from one generation to the next, it becomes more potent, yet also more lethal to the possessor. With every new generation comes more intelligence…but at an exponentially increasing risk to their health. Gerald created the Eclipse Canon, but snapped into insanity when Maria died. Ivo managed to harness the power of a creature to control time and space…but his mind has been deteriorating over years and years of fighting Sonic. My grandfather had microscopic bioweapons that could wipe out any form of life on any world, but his immune system collapsed during the process, and fell to the weapon he himself created. My uncle could alter the course of a planet's orbit…and landed himself in a mental hospital where he became so mentally ill and so unable to function that it became impossible to keep him alive…and you know what happened to my father…"

Zeborah noticed him start to tremble, and she actually jumped when he whirled around with a panicked look on his face.

"What about _me_, then? How bad am I going to get?! My dad had the ability to _destroy the universe_…what does that mean_ I'll_ be capable of? What could possibly be worse than that?!" he howled, nervously running his fingers through his hair. "I knew…evil ran in my family, so I tried to embrace it…but I don't want to end up like the rest of them! I've already got evil thoughts bouncing around in my head and I've tried to suppress them, but I can't do it forever…I'm going to do something horrible and I'm going to _like it_…and I'm going to _have_ to do it…!"

He grabbed his head as his eyes started darting all over the place, not knowing what to do now.

"I…my father, he _died_ because of this disorder, because it consumed him…what does that mean for me?" he sobbed, and Zeborah started shedding tears too. "I can't control any of this…I can't cure it, and I can't hold it off forever…I wasn't even entirely consciously _aware_ of when I shot Darcy…! Zeborah, that's why I can't be around you guys anymore…there will come a time when I'm not aware of what I'm doing and I could seriously hurt you without meaning to, and I'm so scared-"

He suddenly felt Zeborah's arms wrap around him, and he quit babbling, but he couldn't stop crying.

"Wha…what are you doing…?"

"You need a hug," Zeborah said simply. "…but man, you should've told me earlier! We could've done something, figured something out-!"

"What good would it have done?" Connor huffed, drying his eyes. "It's incurable. It's inevitable. It's-"

"'Incurable' only means that a cure hasn't been found _yet_," Zeborah insisted, wagging a finger at him. "And _you're_ Connor Robotnik! If you're destined to gain the most knowledge out of your family yet, then you can certainly use that big brain of yours to figure out the cure! Even Dash could help you, and I'm willing to help however I can too!"

"Zeborah," Connor said sternly, brushing his fingers through his bangs. "Even for_ me_, such extensive research into an already rather rare disorder would take _years_, and I don't even know if I _have_ that long-!"

"…then you should make good use of the time you have," Zeborah said with damp eyes. "Something inevitable may happen to you, but don't let it go to waste. Be with your friends, do something good with your time, and that way you can't have any regrets."

"…I've already lost a month of time, trying to prevent any of you from getting caught in the crosshair of my mental descent…"

"Then make it all up by starting today," Zeborah stated, giving him a nod. "And a perfect way to start could be by…um…well…"

She sucked in a deep breath before sputtering it all out.

"Will you go to the dance with me!?"

Connor was dumbstruck.

"Uh…wait, what?"

Zeborah started explaining at a ridiculous speed. "Hero High is having a dance tonight and I had this plan to take you with me because I thought it would get you to be friends will all of us again, but now that I know the truth I still want to go with you, but if you don't wanna go that's TOTALLY fine too, and I totally understand, I just um, uh-"

Connor took her hand and kneeled on the ground, smiling slightly as he addressed her.

"I…would be_ honored_ to take you."

Zeborah was literally on the verge of fainting from overload of what just happened, and Connor quickly had to stand her up.

"Oh my goodness, I can't feel my legs-"

"But Zeborah, you have to promise me one thing in exchange," Connor said seriously, and Zeborah nodded as best she could through her lovesick look. "…if the day comes where I change for the worse and something bad happens, know that I humbly apologize, and…if things could be different…"

"Connor, by doing this for me…" Zeborah said quietly, shaking her head. "…you're already forgiven."

**Fifth Hour, Healing Lessons- **

In the extra classroom wedged between Luigi's and Kirby's, Purple, Pink, Coby, Tenn and Starlos had been corralled for a new elective that had been introduced a few weeks back, since there was a strong opinion about having two Study Halls (of which Purple and Starlos had both been stuck in)…

So they now found themselves saddled with Healing Lessons.

"I'm so excitedly for another glorious day of class, children!" exclaimed Malon, happily clapping her hands together. "Aren't you excited too?!"

Unanimous grunt.

"Well, at least I make it interesting- you could be sitting through an hour of a sleeping Starfy and listening to Moe prattle on, you know!" Malon huffed.

"Too true," Starlos mumbled in retort.

"You…really like to teach…" Tenn pointed out as Malon shrugged.

"Beats sitting around in the Nurse's Office all day."

Malon then skipped back over to her desk and produced some bottles, passing them all out to everyone.

"Anyway, today we're going to learn how to make some Blue Potion, which is a favorite recipe of mine, though nothing beats the restorative power of good old fashion Lon Lon Milk! Too bad we can't whip that up, huh?" she laughed. When she received limited response, she carried on. "…have you ever been fighting a monster and need a full boost? Has your PP even been totally depleted and you need a recharge? Or have your Pokémon all fainted and there's not a Pokémon Center in sight? Well, knowing how to make a miracle restorative potion will change all that…!"

Malon then carried on, writing ingredients on the board and having the students follow them precisely. Tenn chose to work by herself, moving the ingredients into the bottle with her mind. Coby and Starlos were working together, although neither of them had the slightest clue of how to get started…which then left Pink and Purple.

"Ah, say, Pink," Purple began casually enough, sliding into a seat next to her. "You wanna partner up this time?"

"Sure, no problem!" Pink exclaimed, scooting closer. "I didn't really want to be alone anyway, and besides, it's been a while since we've hung out! We kinda drifted since coming to this school, haven't we?"

"We have, a little," Purple admitted, keeping his eyes glued on the ingredients. If he could easily ask her to be his "lab partner" the why couldn't he ask her to the stupid dance?!

"Well, I miss you," Pink admitted as she flawlessly dropped whatever Purple handed her into the bottle. He felt his heart skip a beat. "The year's almost over, and then we may have to go our separate ways, so maybe we should get together more often!"

"Yeah, getting together is something we should definitely do," Purple sighed in response, only to recoil upon registering what he said. Pink missed his overreaction, having turned to ask Tenn a question, so he sighed heavily and mentally smacked himself.

"Get a grip," he grunted, clenching his fists. "You're making a big deal out of nothing! Just ask her to the dance while you've got her attention…!"

They could go as just friends, right? It'd be better than not going with her at all…as much as it would slightly kill him inside. He was just about to work up the nerve to begin his lead in when a conversation started.

"…yeah, I'm going with Angelina," Purple overheard Starlos telling Coby with a shrug. "Sure there's a height difference, but she's been a good friend, so why not?"

"I guess my first pick would be Zelda then," Coby admitted. "We've been best friends for years, but we also agreed that it'd be nice just to hang out with our whole team for the night."

"…it'll probably be lame or something," scoffed Tenn, now shaking her bottle lightly stir her contents. "I bet no one will even _dance_…and what's with everyone suddenly needing a date?"

Starlos just held up his hands. "Hey, I was handed an opportunity, and I took it."

Pink laughed and shrugged lightly as she grabbed more ingredients from Purple. "I suppose I'm the opposite, then…"

Tenn raised an eyebrow as Purple suddenly grew cold.

"Wh-what do you mean…?!"

Pink picked up the bottle of blue potion, shook it, and decided it needed to be a little bluer. "Well, I waited a long time for someone to ask me to the dance, but with the date creeping closer, I was getting anxiety at the fact that I'd be there 'alone'…"

Well, that made sense. Pink was _that_ extroverted, but…

"So I asked someone myself," she finished, dropping some crushed blue leaves into the bottle, then making a face as it didn't look right. "We might need to start over, Purple…"

But Purple didn't hear her, suddenly paralyzed with the information. Pink had asked someone to the dance…and from what Purple knew, it _certainly_ hadn't been him…

Starlos, Tenn, and Coby noticed the development too, leaning in slightly to see how it would all play out.

"O-Oh," Purple began weakly, grabbing a fresh new bottle and putting a bit of water in it before passing it to Pink. He was no longer paying attention to the ingredients. "And, um, uh…who DID you ask to the dance, if you're willing to share…"

"Someone who would definitely say yes!" Pink exclaimed, receiving the next batch of ingredients as Purple felt his heart sink lower and lower. "It was weeks ago, and he was extremely hesitant when I asked for whatever reason, like he knew something I didn't, but once I practically begged him to go, there was no way he could say no!"

Starlos' jaw dropped as he gaped, he and Coby hitting each other knowingly and unable to say anything as they watched it all unfold before them. Tenn was looking rather haphazard herself, unable to look away from Purple's bulging eyes as he passed Pink something he probably shouldn't have…

"I-I…that…didn't really answer my question…" he gulped, almost not wanting to know as he suddenly became nervous and sweaty. "What was his _name_…?"

Pink didn't even look at him as she dropped the latest ingredient into the bottle.

"Luke."

Tenn covered her mouth, Starlos was gripping Coby way too hard, and Coby was hitting the table rapidly with disbelief.

"…WHAAAAAA_AAAAAAAT_?!"

When the unintended ingredient landed in the rest of the mixture, a catastrophic boom emerged from out of it, sending Pink and Tenn to the floor while Coby and Starlos shielded their faces. The rest of the bottles broke under the force of Purple's scream, with Malon quickly jumping in with her flute to fix everything.

"Oh my goodness, _that_ just happened…" Coby sputtered, shaking his head.

"Duuuuuude this is _not_ good…" trailed Starlos.

Purple, blind with fury and heartbreak, marched out the room, whipping the door open with a dramatic slam and screaming at the top of his lungs down the hallway.

"LUUUUUUUUUUUKE!"

. . .

Meanwhile, in Specialized Training, the group had finished making it out of Samus' maze…although she only attested to the fact that she and Elysia's dad were not married, as proven by her still having her maiden name, and left it at that.

"Man, we got totally ripped off in the way of secrets," Angelina pouted, floating in the air with her arms folded. "We could've figured THAT out…"

The group was about to leave the room when Purple's cry reached their ears, and all of them suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"If I didn't know any better…" Damien began, wrapped comfortably in his cape.

"…I'd say that was Purple…" Junichi finished, eyes going light blue.

Zelda turned to Luke and flashed him a slasher smile, noticing him completely blanch until he was as white as a sheet. "Heh, run Luke, run!"

Luke composed himself for the moment, passing a sheet of paper to Marcus that had the word "Will" written at the top, prepared for such an occasion. He careened out the door as fast as his legs could carry him, only one thought running through his mind as he made a sprint for his life.

"HE KNOWS…!"

* * *

><p><strong>'Kay, that was a big one (sorry, sorry!), so have a recap!<strong>

**1. Mal and Tamsyn are on the mystery girl's trail, which she _really_ doesn't like, and there's suspicion of someone _else_ running around. Maybe.  
>2. Ridley has reignited Ryker's drive for revenge on Elysia, along with revealing a 'fail-safe' on his suit. Not a side plot.<br>3. Don Paolo! ...and the Neutrals gaining the information they needed on the Discipline Chamber, with Steelo having a few specific _directions_ he wishes to take with the plan.  
>4. Connor's inherited disorder may possibly kill him if not managed, Zeborah wants to help, and Connor also agrees to go to the dance with her. *squee*<br>5. Purple finally discovers just who Pink asked to the dance...and the results of that won't be pretty. *not squee* (Just don't jump on Luke _quite_ yet...both Pink _and_ Purple are technically the cause of the misunderstanding. Luke's just a gent 4 life.)**

**Opening the floodgates indeed. **


	8. Heaven Help Us

Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us

Part 8: Heaven Help Us

**Before Sixth Period- **

Before the sixth period began at Villain Prep, Junior, Zeborah, Connor, Penji, Holle, Peri, Dash, Darcy, Steelo, Ninty, Ryker, and Penelope were told to meet in front of their lockers (although Holle's name was pronounced wrong and it sent her into hysterics). When they all had assembled at the designated spot, some a little more enthusiastic than others, Don Paolo arrived on the scene with a stack of papers in his hand, giving Darcy a weird look before shuffling through the pages.

"All right, apparently there were some mistakes in your schedules, but luckily your new school secretary took it upon himself to fix everything! _You're welcome_," Don announced, sliding everyone a sheet of paper rather hastily. "If your name is at the top, you're in history; if it's at the bottom, you're in gym, nyeah heh."

"They really didn't notice anything wrong before now?!" complained Junior, throttling his page at being placed into Antiquity Lessons.

"That, or this guy had a lot of free time on his hands," remarked Penelope.

"I told you he was a weirdo," Darcy whispered to Steelo, as both would be headed to gym next.

"At least I'm not in _both_ now! What was up with _that_?" wondered Dash, seeing that he was truly meant for history.

Eventually the group was sorted out into Connor, Junior, Holle, Penelope, Dash, and Ninty for Antiquity Lessons, while Steelo, Peri, Zeborah, Penji, Darcy, and Ryker had wound up in gym. The group was unanimously disturbed by the strange division, but as Don Paolo had already proudly taken his exit, they had no way to change things, and were forced to just go along with it.

**Fifth Hour, Weapons Training-**

Upon entering Weapons Training, Angelina, Zelda, Elysia, and Skippy were certainly expecting Pit's classroom to be bright and spacious, as to have room for fight. That part was normal. What they most certainly weren't expecting to see was the Goddess of Light herself, Palutena, standing in the middle of the bedazzling room to greet them…nor could they have ever anticipated seeing Pit fly circles at a furious pace. His wings were alight in blue, and Palutena was guiding him around by tracing a flight path with her staff.

"G-force…in my faaaaaaaace!"

"Um…forgive the rude question, Lady Palutena, but what in the world are you and Pit doing…?" Angelina asked bizarrely. Skippy's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"You mean the Goddesses you talk to are REAL?!"

Angelina looked mortified as Elysia disgruntledly shook her head. Palutena didn't seem to mind the question, setting Pit down after the allotted five minutes of flight (with the angel pouting) and trotting over to the kids.

"Oh, don't mind me too much kids; I'm just one of the chaperones for the dance later, and I decided to see how the commander of my army handles his class," Palutena explained, eyeing Pit as he dizzily trotted around the floor. "He wanted to use my Power of Flight straight to the end today, so I let him…"

"T'was a blessing, Lady Palutena…" Pit responded groggily before slamming into a wall and snapping back into his senses. "Wow!"

Palutena smiled a little as Zelda impatiently demanded to know what they were going to do today. Pit sprung back over and took charge instantly.

"Well, seeing as you and Angelina have already taken your quiz, I was going to have Skippy and Elysia do theirs today," he explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I know Link gave your that Pop Quiz, _but_-"

"Ugh, I really wanted to fight again!" complained Angelina, tossing her caramel-colored hair over her shoulder. "You know I hate waiting on the sidelines…!"

"_Yes_," Pit groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as Palutena sweat dropped. "But I also can't play favorites, sooooo…"

"Yeah, yeah, not like I wanted to try a new weapon today or anything," Angelina sighed as she glided over to a bench and plunked down on it. Zelda sat down next to her with about as much enthusiasm. Pit then clapped his hands and turned to Elysia and Skippy.

"Anyway, as for you two, are you ready to demonstrate the proper technique of a weapon of your choosing?"

"Definitely," Elysia grinned, giving a sinister look to Skippy, who inwardly gulped.

"I'll make do, I suppose…"

"Then let's get started!" Pit shouted dynamically, snapping his fingers as the wall keeping the Weapon Cabinet hidden slowly pulled away to reveal Pit's near endless assortment of weapons, gathered over the course of many years of serving Palutena. Palutena looked over the collection herself, mildly bemused.

"Not bad, Pit…that entrance could've used some work though. Maybe something with a little more light."

"Well…sorry it wasn't nearly as awesome as my pre-battle cry with Pittoo against the Chaos Kin," Pit stated in his defense.

"Ooh, I love that story!" Angelina squealed, with Zelda giving her a coy look. "…and NOT for that reason! It was just epic, okay? Didn't matter if Dark Pit was there or not…"

Palutena leaned on her staff thoughtfully. "Speaking of Pittoo, where _has_ he been these days? He hasn't 'crashed any of my parties' lately…"

"He hangs out at Villain Prep for whatever reason, though I totally thought he was good," Pit shrugged. "You know, he may be the darkness in me, but that just makes me the light in him…doesn't it?"

"Even to this day he is quite the enigma," Palutena stated nervously as Elysia activated her Power Suit in the background. She threw her head back as her green Zero Suit was quickly hidden by the thick silver battle armor, her helmet forming around her head and hiding her face behind a pink visor. She turned to Pit and beamed at him as best she could.

"I'm gonna use the Sonic Cannon today!" she stated, walking over to the Cannon shelf and picking her selection. She was able to remove her original cannon and replace it with the Sonic Cannon in no time. Pit nodded in approval.

"A personal favorite of mine, but I love all weapons equally, so-"

"Don't get him started," Palutena cut him off promptly, with Angelina giggling afterwards. Skippy, meanwhile, took his time pondering a weapon.

"Well, I don't like heavily close-range weapons, and I tend to use staffs a lot…so…maybe I'll go left field and use orbitars!"

He eventually selected the Aurum Orbitars, which nearly started Pit on a spiel again about the bizarre alien race that had crafted them, but once the twin shooters were floating above Skippy's shoulders and he was ready for battle, Pit decided to just get it started.

"All right then, as we did yesterday, we'll begin with the verbal part of the quiz," Pit announced as dignifiedly as he could while Palutena opted to take a seat next to Zelda and Angelina to spectate. "Tell me, what are the advantages of your specific weapon?"

"Easy," stated Elysia, gleaning her hand alongside the side of the cannon. "The Sonic Cannon has a continuous fire that covers a vast area, and has a homing ability!"

"Good, and you, Skippy?"

"Ah…Aurum Orbitars also have a continuous fire that travels fast enough so it's hard for enemies to dodge," Skippy exclaimed, glancing at Elysia. "She's slowed down by both the cannon and the Power Suit; that is why I chose this particular weapon."

Pit pulled out a clipboard from nowhere and started checking things off a list. "Good, good, bonus points for taking your opening into consideration…now, disadvantages go!"

"Well, as Skippy was so generous to point out, I don't have speed on my side, which I certainly make up for in strength," Elysia explained confidently, before suddenly sinking to the left with the weight of the cannon. "…plus this thing is just a _tad_ heavy…"

"The only downside to these orbitars are their limited range, but I don't think I'll have too much of a problem," Skippy announced with equal esteem. Pit nodded with approval, marking more checks on his clipboard.

"Aaaaand, last question…what is the best way to avoid being hit?"

"Being a moving target makes you harder to hit!" both Elysia and Skippy chimed. Pit tossed the clipboard over his shoulder –nearly hitting Angelina- and applauded.

"Awesome, you both pass!" he cheered, suddenly looking excited. "Now let's get to good old fashioned _fisticuffing_!"

"…you're such a dweeb, Pit," both Palutena and Angelina groaned.

"What was the point of the clipboard if he can't even read?" asked Zelda, scratching her head.

However, their focus was taken off of Pit when Skippy started running around the room, Elysia laughing maniacally to herself as she fired the Sonic Cannon just ahead of him in order to trap him. Skippy managed to deflect some with his reflector, and as there were limited places for cover in the room, he had to resort to his currently superior agility. He leapt over Elysia's shots, gradually making his way closer to her to get a better angle.

"BONZAI!" wailed Elysia, shuffling around to counter Skippy's surprisingly excellent leaping ability, but failing to hit him even with her wide range of coverage. Eventually, he started shooting back at her with the orbitars, forcing her to backflip away from the onslaught and regroup herself. She knelt down a distance away, knowing he had limited range, and charged up a shot that was absolutely deadly when it nearly struck. She managed to blast off the cowboy hat atop Skippy's head, making the amphibian panic that she'd destroyed it…

But it simply fluttered to the floor unscathed.

He heaved a sigh of relief before Elysia promptly shot him and sent him across the room.

"So, not that I'm not totally engaged with this battle or anything, but I've been meaning to ask with my undying curiosity…why _exactly _can't Pit fly by himself? That display earlier reminded me of that," Zelda stated. Pit darted over and instantly started to overreact.

"Lady Palutena, don't you DARE tell them-!"

"They simply don't work right," Palutena responded with a shrug, totally disregarding Pit. "Like, he goes to flap them, but there's not enough 'oomph' or something to lift him up off the ground…"

"Could be that his wings are simply too weak- they do look a bit smaller and less fluffy than Angelina's…" Zelda observed. Pit crashed to the floor in anguish and wailed to the sky.

"Arrrrgh, you don't know how hard it is to be a flightless angel…!"

"Oops, guess I did strike a nerve…" Palutena laughed nervously before poking her fingers together.

"Pit, you don't need to fly! You've got strengths in other places!" Angelina assured. Zelda snorted.

"Like what? Eating food off the floor? Talking to himself when he's alone? The strength in his inability to even _think_ for himself?"

"Hey! I outta-!"

"Pit, go back to watching Elysia and Skippy."

"Right away, Lady Palutena!"

"Toldja," Zelda stated with a grin as Angelina released a sigh.

Meanwhile, Elysia was going back on the offensive, forcing Skippy into the defensive once more. Skippy sent a few warning shots just in case, but with the limited range he wasn't getting very far. Elysia was much too confident though, continuing with her full frontal charge but becoming a stationary target.

"Come on, Skippy, take the risk! Don't be a coward!"

"Every warrior knows that cowardice is the foundation upon which victory is built!" shouted Palutena, receiving weird looks in return. "…it's totally true!"

"She totally made it up," deadpanned Pit.

Skippy took advantage of Elysia's lull in movement, darting forward and sending a barrage of speedy blasts that she wasn't so quick to avoid. Each small strike plinked against her silver armor, slowly chipping damage. Elysia tried hitting Skippy again, but he was getting too close to aim properly, and he was also currently charging up a blast.

"Argh, what-"

She charged a shot and sent it over at him, but Skippy had sprung into the air with a dramatic and defiant battle cry. His orbitars were glowing to the max as he reached the peak of his jump directly over Elysia. Before Elysia knew what was happening, Skippy released his close ranged power shot, a strike so strong that it sent Elysia careening across the room screaming, slamming into the wall. The force and the draining of energy deactivated her Power Suit, sending the teen to the floor with a startled yelp. Skippy landed on the ground and merely blinked at the unexpected display of power, while the sideliners were just gaping.

Pit was completely enthralled by it all.

"That. Was. Awesome! A's for awesome for everybody! ...oh, and are you okay, Elysia?"

"I…I'm good," Elysia responded, blowing her black ponytail out of her face as Skippy assisted her up. "Guess I've still have to get used to my Power Suit…"

"You've only had it for a few months; don't be too hard on yourself," Skippy laughed. "I'm just amazed that I won…!"

"You both fought with valor and vigor, and that's something to be proud of," Palutena announced, with the duo bowing and murmuring their gratitude for the compliment. "Skippy, you should have more confidence in yourself, and Elysia, it's never good to get too in over your head. Being aware of your weaknesses also makes you stronger, you know."

"Yes, Lady Palutena," the duo agreed.

"Hey, how come I don't get that level of respect…?" complained Pit. Palutena laughed lightly.

"Just the perks of being a Goddess, I suppose…"

"Now I really wish I went to Goddess Training school."

"Oh dear…talk like that will only make you a wallflower at the dance later!"

Zelda giggled while Skippy lightly tapped Palutena and asked her a question. Elysia was busy making sure that her Power Suit was still operational, which left Angelina pondering on the bench. Pit stepped over and stared at her curiously.

"Hey…what's up with you?"

Angelina looked up at him and sighed.

"It's no big deal, really…the first guy I asked to the dance turned me down, and now he…he's interested in someone else. Or at least, more interested in her than me," she explained, hanging her head. "I think I annoy him…"

Pit blew his bangs out of his face as he folded his arms behind his head. "Hmm, well, I may not the be the worlds' leading expert on ladies-"

"No kidding," hummed Angelina.

"-but there's absolutely no harm in being yourself," Pit finished. "You can't please everybody, so just focus on keeping those you care about happy. If this guy would rather be with someone else, as hard as it is, then he deserves to be happy just as much as you do."

"I…suppose I kinda get it. I'll get over it, especially since I'm going with someone else now, even if it is just as friends," Angelina stated, smiling slightly.

"I know you haven't had the best luck with, er, romance, so maybe taking it slow like this is for the best."

Angelina gave a quick laugh before beaming slightly. "I'd be in even deeper if you weren't always looking out for me."

"Hey, the future captain of Palutena's guard has to be in the best shape she can, right?" Pit said with a shrug. "You're my friend- s'what I do!"

Angelina now felt infinitely better about things after talking to Pit, and when Zelda started yelling at her to get over there and practice using Arm weapons, Angelina happily agreed to it and glided over there in a heartbeat, once again looking forward to the dance.

**Fifth Period, Antiquity Lessons-**

Giovanni wasn't particularly looking forward to the day's session, given what went down at that morning's meeting, but if he was successful at getting anyone to learn anything today, he would be content. He knew the classes were getting a final revision for the rest of the semester, although once the students filed in, he only noticed few new changes, which was perfectly fine by him.

When Junior took a seat in the front row, he plunked his tattered tome of "History's Evilest" onto his desk and sighed. History was never an interesting topic for him…but what was interesting was when Connor stepped cautiously into the room and sat next to Junior for the first time in weeks. Needless to say, the Koopa Prince was thoroughly shocked, but not enough to cause a scene because of it.

"Oh joy, another glorious day of having useless knowledge poured into our heads," Penelope chirped as she glided in, followed by Holle, Dash, and Ninty. Ninty sat a seat away from Penelope while Dash took a spot behind Connor and diligently pulled out his laptop. Dash hadn't been getting very far in constructing the supposed cure, but every bit he learned about Connor's condition could only help than hurt…

"Junior," Connor whispered almost inaudibly, but Junior had heard it and nearly had a heart attack. Holle caught it too and tilted her head slightly in his direction.

"Y-Yeah?" Junior responded hesitantly, having no idea what he told Zeborah in the hall beforehand.

"…I apologize for my previous behavior. It was only in everyone's best interest, but…Zeborah managed to snap me out of it, even though I fear the repercussion of the action…"

"All you had to do was tell us what was up with you; there was no need to keep it a secret," Holle huffed. Connor glanced away and bit his lip.

"Yeah, well, there's a reason I kept it secret, but as long as I make it through the school year fine, there should be nothing to worry about…"

"So you admit it?" stated Dash, making his way into the discussion as well. "You have-"

"Yes," Connor responded emptily, shaking his head. "But as I explained to Zeborah, there's nothing I can do to fix it…"

Dash closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Look, I know it seems farfetched to believe that there's a way out of it, but I've been doing some research, and-"

"You think you can find a way to nullify the effects of the condition, according to Zeborah," Connor concluded. "Normally I'd be inclined to believe that, but I just don't think there's the time to-"

"Connor, we at least have to try," Dash assured, clenching his fist. "It may not be today, or tomorrow, or maybe even ever…but the only thing more depressing than failing would be not to try at all."

Connor was quiet, pondering his options in his head before speaking up again.

"I just didn't want anyone getting dragged into this…"

"Too bad we're already in it," sang Holle, grinning toothily and winking at him. "I'll even raise the dead to help if I have to, Brainiac!"

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Connor chuckled, only to notice Junior glowering at him. Connor seemed to shrink under his actually threatening glare, and he also noticed that it looked like Junior was about to snap his paintbrush in two.

"You really expect me to believe that you've been faking all that behavior in the past month?" Junior hissed. "You may have Zeborah and these others fooled, but I've witnessed you doing some pretty disturbing things…talking to yourself, making future plans, and you expect me to believe that it was _all_ an act-"

"…the things you speak of I unfortunately have no recollection of, but I believe you," Connor stated while looking away. "As you saw earlier, anti-social behavior and acute schizophrenia are side effects of the disorder…as I told Zeborah, I've been trying to suppress everything I can, but I just can't do it! I didn't want to do something I'd inwardly regret, and that's why I pulled away…"

"Well, what are you going to do now that we pulled you back in?" Holle asked. Connor just stared forward, looking a tad abysmal.

"Go to the dance later and pray that nothing goes wrong before the school year ends."

"What dance?" Dash asked, only for no one to respond to him.

Junior still appeared a tad grumpy if not hurt about the whole thing, while Holle perked up and clapped her hands together.

"Ooh, going to the dance with the little desert flower after all! Oh, THAT should be fun!"

"About as fun as watching you get down with a boy whose got a knife on your back," chimed Junior. Holle's happiness vanished upon scowling.

"Stop it…! If Zeborah could get Connor to change his ways-"

"-only because I'm bound to get screwed over by myself somewhere down the line," murmured Connor.

"-then I'm willing to give Ryker the same chance!"

"Pardon my intrusion, but it seems like he really doesn't want too much of your interference," Dash pointed out. "So, uh, why go the extra mile…?"

Holle looked hurt for a moment, facing away from Dash as her hair dropped for the second time that day.

"I…just can't stand it when people's destinies are taken away from them without another choice. If someone had placed you on a path that wasn't meant to be, wouldn't you want someone to change it for you, if you yourself couldn't?"

No one had a response immediately, though Dash looked incredibly empty…but Giovanni took this golden opportunity to butt in and actually get to_ teaching_.

"Now that your titillating personal conversations have come to an end, perhaps we can finally get down to business," Giovanni announced, taking a copy of the history book and flipped it open to the latest chapter. "Anyway, this week we were going over the very origins of evil, and today we'll wrap that unit up by discussing something very important…the Origin Point's core."

Ninty suddenly looked interested, eventually nudging Penelope and instructing her to pay attention. Penelope nodded and became more alert as well.

"Steelo's gonna be mad he missed this," Penelope chuckled. Ninty adjusted his beanie and tried not to look too enthralled.

"Yeah, well it's a good thing we're not ALL in P.E., then…gives us better coverage."

Giovanni rose to the board behind him, beginning to write a few notes on the board with one arm folded behind his back.

"As is relatively common knowledge, the Origin Point, the world we happened to be on right now, had its core split due to the unfortunate ramifications of the halting of the Big Crash," he began to explain, sounding very in his element. "Very little is known about how the core had split to begin with, but some speculate that it was done manually- that by the hand of someone willfully, it was split to ensure that the Origin Point wouldn't go crazy with its power again and cause another crash…the split actually created a _sacrificial_ form of balance."

"What do you mean?" asked Junior, raising an eyebrow.

"You see, while it's true that splitting the core caused the Origin Point to find balance in itself…the force of entropy it originally had was scattered through the universe in one giant shockwave…and, believe it or not, is how opposites came to be. Yin and Yang, black and white, order and chaos…while all opposing forces keep each other in check, they do so by constantly being at battle with each other, although both sides desire the same thing- peace, and balance."

"That seems so ridiculously counterproductive," Penelope announced. "I mean, they're fighting for balance, but can only achieve balance by fighting…? Talk about a Catch 22."

"Well, it wasn't entirely like that," Giovanni elaborated. "At first, there were two, and only two extremes that dictated everything. Neither side was superior to the other; just simply different takes on life. These were harmony and discipline, hence why the two halves of core were named as such."

He drew two circles on the board, labeling one "Harmony" and the other "Discipline".

"Harmony is merely a viewpoint of letting the worlds be as they are, and simply coexisting with them and never interfering until deemed necessary. People like this only correct problems after they start, and very rarely seek to prevent them, because that goes against their ideals of messing with that which should be left untouched." He sighed, before a small grin tugged at his expression. "Now, people of discipline have a different, but just as viable viewpoint. They believe in taking advantage of what is given to them, and using that advantage to better themselves and others. The worlds are there for a reason, and to let them just sit with wasted potential…is something disciplined people disagree with."

"You're definitely disciplined," Holle huffed. "Taking advantage of Pokémon and seeking to throw the Pokémon world into a new order…"

"But you paint it in such a negative light," Giovanni countered. "So many wanted to coexist with Pokémon, to rely on each other as trainer and trained…but that handicaps the Pokémon! They're powerful creatures, true potential suppressed by the hands of inconsiderate trainers! I merely had my grunts steal them so they could be used to their full capability, and reinvent the world as a place where humans had the full advantage!"

"And what about all your grunts being really rude to the Pokémon?" Dash demanded.

"As if I'm responsible for how all of my minions behaved," Giovanni scoffed. "And for your information, I happened to know of two grunts off the top of my head who care for their Pokémon very much…unfortunately, they're also not my best agents because of such incompetency, but they're loyal, so I've kept them around. Anyway, we're off topic."

He returned to chair and flipped through his book.

"As I was saying, there were only two extremes- harmony and discipline. But as time went on, those two simple concepts became deconstructed, becoming so warped that they strayed away from what they started out as: just a view point. Everyone was equal, regardless of how they perceived the world, but as people became more ambitious, so did their beliefs…those who followed Harmony pushed their beliefs onto others, forming an order that those who followed Discipline wanted to break…but they were shunned, their actions labeled as Chaos and becoming frowned upon. Some even say that Harmony overtaking Discipline _caused_ Chaos, while those who wanted to restore Discipline were seeking Order, but my point stands- Harmony and Discipline were deconstructed into Order and Chaos."

Ninty was scribbling notes vigorously while Penelope pulled out a Twinkie from her pocket and started gnawing on it.

"Now, with people actually have something to fight for, this is where opposites and extremes truly came into play. Those who wanted "Order" meant well, wanting organization and construct and maintenance of balance, but if left unchecked, would eventually lead to stagnation."

"Just like I said," grunted Ninty.

"The few who wanted to prevent the stagnation and to remove the hindrance of status quo were accused of causing Chaos, and while they meant well too, if too much Chaos was unleashed into the universes, people, places, and things would self-destruct under their own uncontrolled actions. Really, both sides just wanted to stay balanced, but with Order becoming dominant, the actions of Chaos were branded as 'evil'…and thus, the actions of Order as 'good'."

Holle tossed a hand into the air, so Giovanni called on her.

"Listen, not to go against your teachings and stuff, but if the universe really was just strictly divided into 'harmony' and 'discipline', then that would make my job a helluva lot harder," she stated while looking at her nails. "Like, if I wasn't able to tell who was a good person and who was a bad, then how would I know what afterlife to send them to? I couldn't just punish those who were disciplined, could I?"

"As much as I hate to say this Holle, even the Underworld is a world that fell victim to the circumstances of good and bad."

"But…then what came before? If people died, what happened to them?"

"Beats me- you'll have to ask some older than dirt divine acquaintance of yours," Giovanni waved off. "But we're off topic again…! Ahem, once good and evil took shape, that's when the true fighting started. Those on the side of good unfortunately outnumbered those on the side of bad, which is part of the reason why they always win…the other part is because that, thanks to the deconstruction, they're not wholesomely 'good', and because they can do 'bad' things when the need arises, they can get away with almost anything. 'Bad' people, one other hand, try to oppose the standards set by 'good', but they're not as willing to deviate from their core beliefs…and if that's the case, then wouldn't that make 'evil' superior?"

"I suppose that's one perspective," Dash muttered.

"But, still…because of the deconstruction, and to such a degree, that's what makes 'good' and 'evil' relative terms," Connor pointed out. "And because THOSE two things are relative, the next deconstruction, which would be 'right' and 'wrong', shouldn't even exist. They're so subjunctive and interchangeable that it's impossible to discern the two."

Giovanni nodded. "Correct. You see, we're only labeled as 'evil' because we oppose that which people see as 'good'. Unfortunately, it's next to impossible to break the illusion of 'right' and 'wrong' when the concept is so widely accepted…"

Ninty's hand instantly shot in the air. Giovanni was dreading this.

"Yes…?"

"Okay, so we've established that there's a bunch of fighting between extremes, and yadda ya…but if we wanted to avoid all this, then WHY is it so hard for all of us to just get along and meet in the middle?" he asked, like it was an obvious question. "To _really_ achieve balance, wouldn't everyone be striving to reach some middle ground, not battling constantly for one side over the other…?"

"That stems back to the roots of the Origin Point's core," Giovanni pointed out. "When it was whole, everything WAS at that perfect balance. Harmony and Discipline were united as one, and everything and everyone thrived in ideal perfection…._too much_."

"What do you mean too much?" Penelope inquired next.

"It was because of the Origin Point's perfectly balanced core that the Big Crash happened in the first place. With ultimate balance achieved, and no opposition whatsoever, the Origin Point was free to make world after world, without a need for a counterforce to halt it. Because there was no counterforce, and the Origin Point kept going and going…eventually IT was the force that stopped itself, accumulating into the Big Crash, and destroying nearly everything it created."

"And there would have been nothing left if not for Princess Peach," Junior announced.

"Balance destroying balance…in a way, that'd only _leave_ balance behind, since with absolutely nothing, there'd also be no opposition, right?" Holle asked. Giovanni nodded, closing his eyes.

"I know it's deep, and I know it's a lot to take in, but that is precisely _why_ the core was split…to have left it whole WOULD have achieved perfect balance, but in the way of there being nothing TO balance. While the fighting of extremes seems redundant, pointless, and an endless cycle…it's a far better option that leaving the universe to collapse under its own perfection."

"Dang," whistled Dash. "That IS deep."

"That's just like saying neutrality is the true enemy," scoffed Penelope, only for Ninty to reluctantly yet instantly raise his hand.

"Yes…?"

"….so I get _why_ the core was split," Ninty mumbled. "But…hypothetically, _if possible_…what would happen if the core were to be, oh I dunno…_put back together_…?"

Giovanni put a hand to his chin and pondered over it, deep in thought.

"…it'd be_ very_ difficult to do such a thing, given that both halves are under high guard at all times and secured under mutual agreement-"

"Nintendo Hard," snickered Holle.

"…but_ if_ the feat _were_ to be accomplished, I'd wager that, _inevitably_…another Big Crash would happen. And I don't know if anyone would be able to stop it, given how long the core has been separated and that the first one was only stopped by a pure miracle. To finally be put back together again, as it was rightfully meant to be…total balance would be achieved, and, as I stated earlier, anything opposing that would be destroyed immediately."

"Essentially, a complete wipeout of the universe, of a scale that not even my father could have dreamed of achieving," mused Connor. "…a desolation so impactful, that it would leave absolutely no resistance, or _any_ method of curbing its effects, and not even a trace of an aftermath."

Ninty swallowed the bile building in his throat as he sunk in his seat and pulled his beanie over his eyes.

"…I was afraid you'd say that…"

**Fifth Hour, Psychics**-

It was gossip central in Ness' class.

"Dude, didja hear about Purple?!" Marcus whispered. "He finally found out about Pink…!"

"Yeah, I know!" hissed Tenn, pushing the blue fox away. "I was there, you idiot! Everybody's making a mountain out of a mole hill!"

"Purple especially," Damien announced, cuing Tenn to smack her forehead. "I mean, who COULDN'T hear that shout? Luke probably would've passed out if my sister hadn't told him to run!"

Marcus bowed respectfully. "May his last few moments of life not be in pain…"

"I…really don't think Purple would actually go that far…" Junichi hummed nervously, poking his fingers together. Tenn threw up her hand, obviously disgusted.

"Ugh, see? _This_ is why people shouldn't make such big deals out of dances. All it does is turn everyone against each other!"

"I just can't believe that irony," Damien mused. "I mean, _Pink_ being the one to spill the beans…"

Tenn rose out of her desk with a loud clang and frowned at the boys. "You are all so _insensitive_…!"

Junichi let out a pained shriek at the word while Damien and Marcus genuinely didn't have any idea what they did wrong- they were just stating the facts! Tenn, meanwhile, drifted over to where Pink was sitting, face buried in her hands abysmally.

"…you okay?"

"…I dunno how to feel," Pink sighed, lifting her head up. "I didn't know he wanted to go with me…!"

"Why didn't you ask him to begin with?" Tenn inquired. "I mean, you're not exactly the shy-type' you're a go-getter, just like Red!"

Pink grimaced and nervously wrung her ponytail in her hand. "I didn't even think he wanted to _go_…social events obviously aren't his thing, and I…didn't want to be rejected…"

"How in the world could he possibly reject his best friend?" Tenn retorted, but Pink frowned deeply and shook her head.

"I dunno, but we've been drifting apart lately, ever since we came to this school. I feel horrible for not hanging out with him as often, but I met you and Angelina and Lulu and everyone else, and I suppose I got swept up in the excitement…" She smiled slightly. "I like meeting new people, and coming here is an opportunity I'll always appreciate…but I _hate_ that it drove a wedge between Purple and I."

"Well, don't feel too bad about it," hummed Tenn, ever the optimist. "If you hadn't come here, Purple wouldn't have broken out of his shell bit by bit! Talking with Miss Rose certainly helped-"

"But I wish he would've talked to me; I wish he would've asked _me_ to the dance!" Pink cried, only to clamp her hands over her mouth. She glanced around to find Junichi and Damien looking indifferent while Marcus looked like he hit the jackpot with information. A scowl from Tenn turned him around in his seat though. Chuckling, Tenn retuned her attention back to Pink.

"…anyway, why not just go with Purple now?"

"I can't do that to _Luke_," Pink whimpered, biting her lip. "After I begged so hard and finally broke him…"

"He probably attempted to turn you down in the first place knowing how desperate Purple was," scoffed Marcus. Tenn psychically flipped his desk. "What is your BEEF with me, woman?!"

"Why didn't he just say so? I would've understood!" Pink exclaimed.

"Bro code," Damien hummed, with Junichi nodding.

"Uh, what-?"

"You've _gotta _be kidding me," groaned Tenn, with Damien regretting having said anything and looking away again. Junichi decided right then and there to practice some whistling "…ugh, boys."

"…anyway, Luke's a gentleman and a really nice guy. I'm sure I'll still have fun anyway," Pink decided, smiling.

"Unless Purple breaks his _neck _or every other bone in his body ffirst," Marcus coughed hastily, and almost instantly found himself being chased around the room by Tenn's golf club.

"_Clearly_ you can't take a hint as to when to keep your yap shut!"

"Augh,_ Mommy_!"

It was then that Ness _finally_ arrived looking pretty pleased with himself, one hand in his hoodie pocket and the other holding a steak sandwich.

"Sorry I'm late guys, Lucas needed me to help him finishing putting up some-"

He then found Damien humming loudly to himself, Pink faced down on her desk, Junichi's eyes brimming orange, and Tenn chasing a wailing Marcus around with her golf club.

"…I can't _ever_ leave you people alone, can I?"

"At least your desk is still intact!" Junichi pointed out brightly, though that didn't really make Ness feel any better. Sighing, and finishing the rest of his steak sandwich, Ness sauntered over to his desk. Tenn finally stopped hunting down Marcus and took her own seat. Marcus, panting, crawled into his own desk.

"So, whaddya wanna learn about today?" Ness asked, aloofly twirling his yo-yo around and doing several difficult tricks. Damien looked appalled at the notion.

"You…don't have anything planned?!"

"Teacher's pet is having a heart attack," chuckled Tenn. Ness scratched the back of his head and actually looked a little sheepish.

"Ah, well, you see…I was so wrapped up in planning for the dance that I forgot to make a lesson plan for today…"

"That _is _unfortunate," Marcus stated with complete sarcasm. Ness gave him a look as he tossed his yoyo towards the ceiling.

"Well, since you seem _so_ disappointed Marcus, maybe you should demonstrate just how well you improved this semester-"

"Yeah, Marcus!" jeered Tenn loudly, making the blue fox's ears droop. "Show us all just how _awesome_ you are!"

"Yeesh, is it 'psychics pick on Marcus' hour or what…?"

Pink rolled her eyes and eventually tossed out one of her Pokeballs, calling out Mime Jr.

"Well, I'm not just going to stand around wasting time and feeling depressed. I'm itching to battle, so if anyone feels like a rematch-"

"Oh, always!" Marcus chirped, skidding in front of Mime Jr and putting up his fists. Pink smirked and called the first attack, and almost instantly the two were duking it out in the middle of the class with Junichi and Damien serving as referees. Ness laughed and praised them for their ingenuity, until he noticed Tenn standing off to the side, arms folded and only smiling the tiniest bit. Ness slid over to her and nudged her shoulder.

"What's up? You love fighting, and I'd figure you'd be dying to get a piece of Marcus…"

Tenn shrugged and folded her arms behind her head, "Ah, guess I got it out of my system earlier…"

Ness accepted that, turning to supervise the fight but insisting on keeping the conversation going. "So, looking forward to the dance later?"

Tenn closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not…nearly to the extent of anyone else, I guess…"

"Dunno why not- your parents were natural dancers!" Ness exclaimed with glee, with Tenn burying her face in her hands. "Even when the world was about to end, they found the time to have their first dance, despite how incredibly awkward it was, but considering they got together afterward-"

"I know the story!" Tenn wailed, with Ness laughing afterward. "Obviously I didn't inherit the romanticism gene, and neither did Ninty."

"Maybe you'll get a third sibling named Doh and _she'll_ have the gene," Ness proposed, with Tenn smacking her forehead.

"I can't _believe_ you just suggested that-"

"What? It's viable!" insisted Ness, before becoming serious again. "…but really, why so down? Aren't you going with your friends?"

"I was, until Pink had a breakdown and asked Luke, and then just this morning Angelina asked Starlos!" Tenn folded her arms and looked away. "But as I keep saying, you don't need a date to have fun. It just ruins things…!"

Ness stared at her for the longest time before shaking his head.

"You wanted someone to ask _you_, didn't you?"

Tenn jolted like she'd been punched.

"What? Of course not! That goes against everything I've been saying!" shrieked Tenn, raising her fists temporary, only to bring them back down again in a defeated manner. "...but if that _was_ the case, it's not like there are really any options left, nor would anyone want to go with me anyway. Not this late in the game."

Ness looked thoughtful as he pondered the issue. "Not very many fish in the sea, huh?"

Tenn lifted her visor slightly and gave him a questioning look. "Oh, don't tell me YOU'RE going to try and give _me_ romantic advice."

"Hey! What's wrong with that?!"

"The farthest you ever got romantically was _walking a girl home_-"

"_Lies!_" shouted Ness, though his face suddenly matched the color of his baseball cap. "You don't know the whole story-!"

"Oh, what followed after? A friendly _handshake_? A fleeting pat on the back?"

"Stop it- this is about _you_, not me!" Ness shushed her instantly, swatting away all her comments. "Anyway, Tenn, I was just going to say that you're already very independent, strong-willed, and have a good head on your shoulders. Forcing yourself into something that you yourself may not even entirely want could possibly jeopardize that. Just a little food for thought."

He started twirling his yoyo about once again, only for Marcus to go flying across the room and unceremoniously smack into him. Both fox and psychic were entangled in a heap on the floor, with Pink nervously rubbing her neck.

"Ah ha ha…sorry. Mime Jr here kinda packs a punch…"

"You're telling me!" both Marcus and Ness muttered, with Damien and Junichi doing their best not to snicker. Tenn was bemused herself, but also found herself somewhat pensive by Ness' words…

**Fifth Period, Physical Education-**

"Guess what WE'RE doing today, kids?!"

The group unanimously groaned at Wolf's enthusiasm.

"_What_, Mr. O'Donnell?" grunted Zeborah, already feeling the muscle ache coming on. Wolf clenching his fist and gave the group a toothy sneer.

"Two words: obstacle course."

"Well crud!" hissed Peri, looking exhausted and overworked just at the thought of it. "Gonna have to call in the ambulance early…"

"Oh show some _spine_, little lady," Steelo scoffed, beginning to stretch. "It'll be good conditioning!"

"I have a condition that prevents conditioning."

"_Really_? Wish_ I_ had that," Ryker remarked, with Peri making a face afterward. Wolf clapped his hands and demanded everyone's attention once again.

"As I was saying, today we'll be doing an obstacle course made up of four components. Before you totally fall part, it's not that bad, pansies. We did way worse stuff back at mercenary boot camp!"

"…really?" Darcy asked, and Wolf shrugged.

"Eh, as far you know. ANYWAY, the first part is a simple rope swing, followed by a nice and easy balancing beam. Then, it's a calm little wall climb, and a simple little grip endurance challenge to end it all off!"

"Since when do we have all this?!" complained Zeborah, until Wolf darted to the wall and hit the button on the control panel with a devious grin.

"Let's just say I've been doing some…remodeling."

Penji winced while Ryker rolled his eyes as the entire gym started rumbling- a sensation nearly all of them were used to by now. However, what merely used to be a mechanism for simulating opponents had become something grander…and probably far beyond the budget of Villain Prep.

The floor opened up, and the obstacle course as a whole rose from beneath. It was absolutely massive –at least in comparison to the size of the gym itself- and Peri felt the overwhelming urge to faint. Wolf laughed to himself once the course in all its entirety had emerged, turning to the group of six looking much too excited.

"So yeah, all you have to do is get through this in one piece!"

"What's the catch?" Ryker deadpanned, and suddenly Wolf pulled out two blasters and burst into a mad cackle.

"I'll be shooting at you the whole time!"

"WHAT?!" shrieked Peri. "That's utterly crazy!"

"Yeah? Well when you're trying to escape from authority, they're not just going to stand around and let you go! They're going to put up a fight!" Wolf insisted. "You'll have to rely on your own unique abilities to defend against the shots, but as long as you make it to the other side in one piece, you will be fine."

"He says that so _lightly_…!" winced Penji.

"Partner up if you want- just be able to succeed, okay?" Wolf announced before blowing his whistle and ordering everyone to get in a line. Peri and Penji instantly teamed up, with Steelo smirking and inquiring Ryker if he wanted to team up as well. Ryker rolled his eyes and gruffly gave his indifference on the matter, leaving Darcy and Zeborah.

"Yeah, I'd rather go solo," Zeborah huffed, stretching out her arms. Darcy cracked her neck.

"Took the words out of my mouth."

After Peri called out Glaceon to help her out and Steelo summoned Pawniard, the six of them lined up and inwardly braced for the worst…to varying degrees. Wolf eventually blew the whistle once again, and instantly bellowed out in laughter as he went crazy with his blasters.

"Augh!" wailed Penji, instantly creating an ice shield that barricaded him and Peri from the attacks. Peri adjusted her glasses and started towards the first obstacle, being the rope swing.

"Okay, Pen! Cover me as I get across, and then I'll cover you afterwards!"

"O-Okay!"

Penji took a deep breath before heaving a huge gust of icy breath, building on his shield and keeping Peri free form the attack. She was able to muster up her courage with Glaceon on her shoulder and jump, grabbing the rope and clinging to it like a life line. It wasn't a terribly high fall, but Peri was just so fragile, and-

Zeborah sprung through the air, reflecting the blasts with one sword as she used her free hand to grip the rope and fling herself across. Peri scowled and started to shake a fist as her, only to slip on the rope and grip it again.

"Showoff…"

"This isn't a race, remember! This is survival!" Wolf reminded them, still shooting in all directions. Peri was still stuck on her rope, with Darcy mocking her as she swung by, followed by Steelo giving her a disapproving look. As he darted away, Penji noticed her struggling, so he sent an icy gust of wind at her rope, sending it forward and giving her enough momentum to make it to the other side. She wailed on her way across, but she and Glaceon stood up fast enough to cover Penji just as they promised.

"Glaceon, use Barrier!"

Glaceon jumped into the air and darted over to Penji, where she then put up a psychic force field that greatly reduced the strength of the blasts. Penji patted her head to thank her, then sprang towards the rope and managed to make it across himself. The duo celebrated happily before carrying on.

"Sorry about what went down last hour," Steelo called to Ryker as Pawniard was holding off Wolf's shots with Iron Defense. Ryker just grunted as he made his way across the gap as well.

"I don't require your pity."

"And I'm not giving it," Steelo shot back, folding his arms. "_Especially_ if you don't want it. You'd have to earn it if you wanted it from me."

"Then let me ask what you want from _me_, then," growled Ryker, the spines on his back rising. "You might be all subtle and sneaky, but you'd have to be _blind _to not see how easily you bend people to your whim. I saw you with Darcy earlier, and everyone knows she's not persuaded on a _whim_."

"So I know how to talk to people," Steelo scoffed. "Can't say the same for you, Captain Anti-Social. Though, I suppose that's not your fault, hmm?"

"Are you just going to stand there and chide me or tell me what you want? Be straight up or so help me I'll shred that silver suit of yours into slivers!"

Steelo shook his head as he made his way to the next obstacle. "_Touchy_."

Ryker snarled and threw himself at Steelo; Steelo snapped his fingers and gestured behind him.

"Brick Break."

Pawniard jumped up and halted Ryker's machete, the metal clinking off of Pawniard's armor. Ryker looked confused for a moment until Pawniard's other tiny blade came down on Ryker's head, effectively forcing him to the ground. Ryker could barely make any coherent sounds, grunting at his lack of understanding of what just happened. Steelo simply adjusted his hat.

"Things are about to go _down_, Ryker. And you _better_ think twice about what side you want to be on."

"I'm…on no one's side…!" Ryker insisted, and Steelo's simpering darkened.

"Then you're already on the right track."

Back with Zeborah, she was currently leading the pack, gracefully balancing on the beam while elegantly veering left and right to avoid Wolf's shots. Darcy, right behind her, was getting pretty tired of Zeborah flaunting her obviously superior acrobatic ability…so she pushed the Gerudo Princess off the balance beam.

"Hey-"

"_Whoops_," griped Darcy, hurried making her way across. "Lost a bit of your poise there, sweet cheeks."

Zeborah picked herself up off the ground and scowled at Darcy, but the wolf got her karma when her uncle managed to hit her with a blast and sent her down next to Zeborah.

"Uncle Wolf-!" Darcy whined. Wolf ceased fire and simply shrugged.

"Oh stop, Muffin. They're not even set to paralyze!"

Peri and Penji shakily crossed the beams themselves, overtaking the two girls by supporting each other on their way across. Zeborah blew her hair out of her face with Darcy murmured something nasty under her breath. Steelo was the next to cross, hands in his pockets as his obedient Pawniard trailed behind him with a little less aplomb. Ryker just said "screw balance" and made his way to the other side by walking around, still stewing in thought at Steelo's words and actions. Zeborah and Darcy finally scrambled bup to get back in the game.

"…shoot, what was next?" huffed Peri, leaning on Penji as Glaceon nudged her knee. Penji looked up and instantly made a face.

"You're gonna hate this…"

It was the climbing wall.

"Oh, may Arceus bless me-"

"Come on!" Penji insisted, dragging his friend forward. Peri groaned loudly as Penji fended off a few more shots from Wolf, then told Peri to stand completely still and not freak out. Before Peri could fully question what Penji intended to do, he suddenly thrust his hand down and up, creating a crude ice teeter-totter like contraption with Peri standing on one end. Smiling, he took out his Jet Mallet, charged it over his head, and slammed it down onto the other side of the teeter totter.

"Hey-HEY-!"

"Now you don't have to climb!" Penji exclaimed happily as Peri soared up and over the wall. "You're welcome!"

"Waaaah! Glaceon, Icy Wind!"

Glaceon darted up and around the wall too, skidding to a stop before taking a deep breath and hurling a gust of Icy Wind in Peri's direction. The force of the attack was enough to slow Peri's descent, catching her dress and allowing her to float gracefully back to the ground. She adjusted her glasses, surprised that it worked, and smiled at her Pokémon.

"Hey, that wouldn't be a bad contest move…!"

"Penji, send me up next!" asked Zeborah frantically, ducking and dodging around Wolf's attacks as she scrambled over. Penji gaped at her.

"Zeborah, you're perfectly capable of climbing up yourself; I just helped out Peri-"

"But I gotta get ahead of Darcy!" shrieked the princess, with Penji eventually sighing and slamming his hammer down on the lever again. Zeborah whooped as she cascaded into the air, reaching the top of the wall, gripping it with one hand and flipping herself over. Penji just shook his head as he stood on his contraption himself, conjuring up another block of ice and dropping it on the other side to hoist himself up, melting it all once he had no more use for it. Darcy arrived just a second too late and hissed at her circumstance.

"Oh, come on…!" she whined, popping out her claws and gouging them into the side of the wall as she made her way up. "Cowards, taking the easy way out…!"

"They're not worth the trouble, Darcy," Steelo insisted, coming up from behind her as he thought about how he should approach the wall. Ryker, sociable as ever, silently yet sinisterly stayed on his heels, trying to figure him out but finding that he couldn't. Eventually Steelo shrugged and started climbing the wall himself, making sure to use the proper grips and footing.

"Why do you have to be so mysterious?" Ryker demanded, climbing the wall by using his machete. "…though I don't appreciate being hit in the head."

"I don't appreciate a sneak attack either; t'was merely self-defense," Steelo insisted casually. "Is there no way to talk to you without initiating a conflict…?"

"You still haven't told me what you want!" Ryker exasperated. Steelo clicked his tongue and shrugged as best he could while climbing.

"I just want to help you," he said sincerely enough, and for a fleeting moment Ryker nearly believed him, but he knew Steelo had a bunch of aces up his rolled up sleeves. "After all, you seem to have a little problem exacting your much deserved revenge, but what if I told you that I could help you exact that revenge…?"

"And WHY would you care whether or not I kill a girl?" Ryker huffed, not letting his guard down.

"Fact is, I _don't_, but that's pretty much the only thing you passionately want in this life, so I figured if I offered up my assistance in that aspect, you'd be more willing to do a few small favors for me."

"…small favors?"

Ryker didn't really like the sound of that.

Meanwhile, Peri, Penji, and Zeborah were booking it to the fourth and final obstacle, where Wolf had swapped out his puny blasters in exchange for a menacing-looking cannon that was also "set to stun". Darcy wasn't looking to get hit again, so she ducked, weaved, and forwent her lead in order to keep her fur on.

"Ah, good old grip endurance," Zeborah sighed, eyeing the giant wheel that one had to hang onto as it took them across to the other side, residing over a pool of water.

"Alas, I have none," Peri sighed, looking green in the face.

"Don't be so down on yourself!" Penji exclaimed, being the first to try the strange contraption. "You have to at least try!"

He pushed off and instantly went rolling across the gap, managing to stay snug on the wheel as it rolled across. Darcy tried to study his technique while Peri turned a new shade of pistachio. Once Penji made it across, he pushed the wheel back across, where Zeborah grabbed onto it next and used her flames to give herself a speed boost. Darcy mocked her for being a showoff, until the wheel came back and it was Peri's turn to go. With Glaceon jumping onto her shoulder, she gulped as she grabbed the wheel and pressed herself against it for dear life.

"Aaaaiiiiieee…!"

Darcy actually had to cringe at Peri's abrupt stop, as it was one that sent her flying unceremoniously onto the group with stars dancing around her head. Penji tried helping her back to her feet, but Peri was so dizzy that she ended up wobbling around and falling over anyway. Zeborah shook her head as she sent the wheel back to Darcy, teasing her for not being first to finish. As Darcy made a face and went across, Steelo and Ryker at long last caught up, Ryker still appearing skeptical and Steelo with his hands in his pockets.

"Tonight, there will be a prime opportunity for you to carry out that which you seek…and I can set it up for you no problem," Steelo said carefully. Ryker glanced curiously back.

"You know about that dumb dance?"

"Of course; it's not hard to get information around here," Steelo smirked. "My point is, a few of my associates and I will be attending as well, though not entirely for fun reasons…and that's where you come in, Ryker."

Ryker was silent.

"I will give you, Penny, and Darcy specific instructions once we are in the building tonight, but the gist of it is…I need to know what the lock looks like on something called the Harmony Vault."

"…intriguing. Pray tell, why_ just_ the lock?"

"…the only thing I can use to open it is an object called the Master Charm," Steelo explained, hiding his expression from Ryker. "However, what it is exactly is known by very few, but if I see what the _lock_ looks like-"

"-then you can estimate what the object might actually _be_," Ryker finished.

"And in return for you completing such a tiny and minuscule task, I will get Elysia in prime position for you to swoop in and…do what you will, I suppose. Not hard, considering how malleable all those heroes are…" Steelo hummed, shrugging. "I'd say you get the better end of the deal, here…"

Ryker fell silent, closing his eyes as he deeply pondered the proposal. Steelo shoved his hands back in his pockets.

"I won't make you answer right away," Steelo stated coolly. "Though, I'd like a response before the end of the day, I'm nice enough to let you ponder on it, but keep in mind what I said earlier…"

Ryker cracked open an eye as Steelo proceeded to finished the obstacle course himself, evading Wolf's cannon shots and joining the others who were bickering about which one of them performed the best. Ryker blinked, a low growl building in his throat as he continued to contemplate.

"_Things are about to go down, Ryker. And you better think twice about what side you want to be on."_

**Sixth Hour, Study Hall-**

Lulu, Starlos, and Alph waited in baited silence, the tension so thick one could cut it with a knife combined with a heavy atmosphere that weighed on their shoulders. They were still two students short of their full class, but they feared that if they returned, one of them would be unconscious…or unrecognizable…or _both_.

Starlos looked particularly nauseous at that fact.

They could hear Purple prowling around in the hallway, pacing outside the door like a wolf on a hunt. He knew the gentleman in Luke wouldn't be able to stay away from class for very long; all Purple had to do was wait…

"What is _wrong_ with that kid?" remarked Moe at the desk as Starfy was contently drawing on a piece of paper with a red crayon on the floor. "He looks like he went feral…!"

"Oh please don't say that," sighed Lulu, placing a hand to her forehead.

"And where's that Triton kid at? He's never been late in the time that he's been here…"

"Perhaps in a better place, but he's in my thoughts!" sobbed Alph, hanging his head down and praying silently. Starlos groaned and shook him out of it.

"Stop it! Luke's not dead-!"

"It's only a matter of time," Lulu scoffed.

Just then, Purple suddenly darted from the door, taking off toward the right with an inaudible growl. He vanished from the class' view as he careened away, following the flash of blue he'd seen dart by. He rounded the corner, flying by the girls' bathroom and stampeding into the boys'. With a dramatic kick, the door flew open, with Purple panting heavily upon entering. With steps that reverberated off the room's green and white tile walls, Purple edged toward the stalls, creeping closer until he reached the first one and gave it a wild bang. Purple swore he heard a sharp intake of breath, so he slowly crept to next stall and gave it kick too, but again failed to find who he was looking for…

…because said person was leaning against the wall by the sinks, behind Purple and standing right in his blind spot, making a cautious yet painfully slow retreat to the door.

Purple kept working his way down the stalls, forcing them open with more power each time, and Luke used each slam to cover his footsteps as he came ever so close to the door. As soon as he had a grip on the handle, he'd whip it open and run for his freaking life; outrunning killer robots, escaping falling towers and ruins, and chasing down criminals with Layton would finally pay off-!

"You can't hide, Triton!" Purple cawed, reaching the last stall with an almost delirious intent. Luke shuddered against his will, silently reaching for the doorknob and planning to bolt as soon as Purple opened the stall-

He just hadn't expected Purple's eyes to flick behind him, catching the reflection in the mirror that perfectly displayed Luke's desperate getaway.

Like something out of a horror movie, Purple whipped around and_ lunged_ at Luke, with Luke releasing a high-pitched scream and fumbling for the door, managing to open it at the last possible second and throwing himself outside. However, also like in a movie, Purple had grabbed Luke's foot just before it got out of range, tripping up the boy and having him fall to the ground.

"Cripes, NO-!"

Luke wailed and reached forward as he was pulled back into the bathroom, the heavy door slamming shut once he was through, as if sealing his fate. His life flashed before his eyes as he was hefted off the ground by his overcoat with only one of Purple's hands and winced as his back thudded against the wall. He braced his face as best he could for impact and squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear the sight of rage that adorned Purple's expression…things went dizzy for Luke though nothing had even happened yet, but the anticipation of such…! The overwhelming fear that the end was almost near…!

"_Luke, listen…we must keep a clear head at times like this. Do you understand? We can only uncover the truth if we stay calm and remain rational. Do you think you can do that for me?"_

Luke writhed in Purple's grip, feeling Purple tighten his hold at the resistance. Luke feared for his life now more than ever, but he'd been in far worse situations, even breaking the laws of life itself at one point…! He remembered all that he'd been through, and all that Professor Layton had taught him…and finally, he was able to take a deep breath, sigh, and open his eyes to face Purple.

"Purple, please, I know you're upset, but you must calm down-"

"Easy for you to say! I should punch you out right now!" Purple barked, red in the face and shaking slightly. "H-How could you do this?! You of all people know how I feel about Pink!"

"Who _doesn't_ know?" Luke remarked against his better judgment, riling Purple up once more.

"If it was so flippin' _obvious_ then_ why_ would you go behind my back, you scum?!"

"Purple, I didn't ask Pink; _she_ asked _me_!" Luke explained, still being dangled by his collar. "Of course I knew how you felt! I would never do that! But Pink was so desperate-"

"Why didn't you tell her no?!"

"_I tried_!" Luke shouted back. "I tried and tried and tried but she almost started to cry, and…a gentleman can't say no to lady, and he can't make her cry. That was pounded into my head from day one!"

Purple seethed, still huffing and angry and refusing to let go of Luke.

"Purple, you _have_ to get a grip. It's not the end of the world! If it means a lot to you, just go tell her you want to go with her and tell her I said it was okay!" Luke shook his head. "If you just kept a level head about this, it wouldn't have had to come to this…!"

Purple eventually let go of Luke, though still keeping Luke in place with his cold stare. Luke's legs caved out from the nerves, and he sank to ground rather haphazardly before looking up at Purple again.

"She waited, Purple. She wanted YOU to ask her, but you never did, and she feared you'd reject her if _she_ asked. She only asked _me_ because she KNEW I couldn't say no…"

Purple blinked; that's mostly what Pink herself had said, though she specifically left out the part about waiting precisely for HIM…

"Wh…what?" Purple whimpered, anger finally dying and adrenaline dropping low. Luke breathed a sigh of relief and felt his own nerves start to calm. However, before he could calmly propose a solution to Purple, Luke's eyes met the punk's, and suddenly Purple started to cry. He _completely_ decomposed right then and there, and Luke was so stunned that he didn't know what to do.

"Stop, Purple! It's okay-!" Luke insisted, but Purple swatted him away and leaned his back against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face from Luke. It wasn't a loud, uncontrollable wail; it was that heart-wrenchingly soft sobbing that you_ never_ wanted to hear from a guy.

"Why i-is it so….difficult, Luke?" Purple choked out through sobs, Luke straining to make it out. "J-just…why?!"

"_What's_ hard, Purple?"

"Telling her how I feel!" he exclaimed in a sharp cry, throwing himself back into anguished sobs. "Why do I h-have to be so p-painfully shy?! Why do I have to be so f-freakin' sensitive? I'm tormented all the t-time…about how I let the days slip away…but I can't do it! ARRGGHH-"

Purple punched the floor in frustration, yelling in distress and just letting it all out.

"Why's it so _hard_ to be approachable, friendly, or even just a little confident…?! W-Why can't I be more like_ you_, L-Luke…?"

"M-Me?!" Luke stammered, and Purple nodded wearily. "What, you think I've got better luck with girls?"

"'Sides being b-better than me at everything anyway, _yes_," Purple muttered, and Luke removed his cap to fan himself, shaking his head.

"…then you have no idea," Luke murmured quietly, frowning. "Sure, I've been a little sweet on a few girls, but…nothing ever would've worked out. I had to regrettably move away from my friend Arianna, and even then Aurora, she had…s-she-"

He clenched his hat tightly at the memory as his own hot tears started to sting his eyes.

"…even a gentleman has girl troubles," Luke finally sighed, adjusting his cap back into place. "Guess even Apprentice Number One has a spot of the Layton Curse, not that I expect you to know what that is…"

Purple had simmered down considerably, so Luke plopped himself down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't feel so bad; having enough courage to admit your feelings is hard for everyone, so it's not just you! Here, I won't even make you ask Pink to the dance- I'll let you cut in on a dance and then you can work from there!"

Purple brought his head up, cautiously eyeing Luke. "R-Really…? But then you won't have a date-"

"Well, it's like what Tenn's been saying. I don't _need_ a date to have fun." Luke shrugged. "…but you should really get around to telling Pink how you feel before the year's over, because who knows where we'll all be after we graduate…"

"I _know_," moaned Purple, pulling his hat over his eyes. "There's a hurricane of butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it…!"

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment, until his eyes lit up with a thought.

"I've got an idea! You'll have to come by my house after school if you can, but…" Luke grinned and pointed a finger to the sky. "…maybe I'll be able to help you."

Purple perked up, finally sitting a littler straighter and nodding.

"Okay, sounds cool. I might need to borrow a suit too-"

"Ah, um, I suppose my Mum could help us," Luke pondered. "Just…try not to do anything weird; my parents aren't used to some of the wackiness of other worlds, you know. It's really hard to explain that I'm classmates with an angel, orange blob, purple hedgehog, blue fox, and a green star amongst others sometimes…"

"Heh, no problem," Purple chuckled, giving Luke a thumbs up. "Er…sorry for nearly throttling you there. Guess I haven't quite worked out my anger issues yet."

"Ah ha ha…" Luke laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Um, and I apologize for keeping the thing with Pink a secret…and thanks for not killing me in return."

"Psh, the worst I could've done was give you a black eye."

"Which STILL wouldn't be very appreciated, you know."

"Hey, might've made you look tougher! Add a little street cred perhaps-"

"Gentlemen DON'T need street cred…!"

Purple chuckled and finally suggested that they leave the bathroom, with Luke more than ready to agree. Tonight was already shaping up to be hectic; the least he could do was to lessen some of it…and who knew? If things went right, it could be fun.

* * *

><p><strong>I can't recap this one because I might unintentionally give something away, hm hm. <strong>

**But a note: in GNG2, I really did put Dash in both sixth periods (on accident) but to edit him out of one of the periods would require mass reconstruction of that chapter...so I decided to poke fun at myself here instead. :P**


	9. The Escalation of All Things

**Okay, enough supplementary exposition and romance for a bit. Let's get to some action, development, and MAAAAYBE some answers...! **

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 9: The Escalation of All Things

Sixth Hour wasn't entirely over yet, meaning that there was still a few more minutes that the halls would be empty. Tamsyn and Mal took this opportunity to continue their search, although their luck wasn't exactly the highest at the moment.

"I…have _no_ idea where they went. We've combed this whole school!"

That was Tamsyn complaining, tapping her foot in dismay as Mal checked over his radar once again. They were currently huddled up in the hallway to the cafeteria, surveying the damage that the "specter" supposedly did earlier. However, they couldn't find the source of the electrical disaster, nor did they entirely have a lead on the "fire girl", aside from the fact that Damien and Junichi clearly had contact with her.

"Guess this will be a little tougher than I thought…and also take a little longer," commented Mal, folding his arms. Tamsyn instantly looked panicked.

"What do you mean 'take longer'…?"

"We can't search as thoroughly as we'd like so long as we're under this secrecy pact," Mal explained. "However, by the time all the students leave, our targets could escape along with them…unless, of course, they _plan _on attending the dance later."

Tamsyn stared at Mal with disbelief. "_What_. That is your craziest assumption yet…why would those who've spent all day trying to mess things up go to the dance? If that truly was their objective, then why not_ just_ go to the dance and reduce the suspicion?"

"There had to have been a reason to take that risk. Guess the only way to know for sure is to ask," Mal shrugged, producing a kunai from his sleeve. "They may be elusive, but a ninja such as myself will be catch them without hesitation! …and if we go to the dance, then maybe I can cut in on some lucky girl's dance and make her night-!"

"The only girl you'll be dancing with is your mother; now stay focused!" Tamsyn exclaimed. "What's our next move?"

"…probably to keep an eye on that Damien; if our intel rings true, then that fire chick's been after him all day. Stay close to him, and maybe we'll nab her the next time she appears, and then she'll be really hot under the collar-!"

"I just want to know where she went right now…" Tamsyn cut him off as she folded her arms. "If she's supposedly still in the building, then why can't we find her?"

Mal found himself at a loss for an answer.

Just then, the damaged lights around them started flickering again, despite being mangled from the previous shortage. Tamsyn instantly whipped out her Stun Baton while Mal furrowed his brow and crouched low, waiting intently to something to happen.

"Hello?" Tamsyn called out, instinctively knowing that someone else was among them. "We're not going to hurt you, we just want to talk-"

"Stay away from her."

The high-pitched voice was incredibly stern and ridiculously seriously, but while it gave Tamsyn a bit of a chill, neither of them could pin the voice to a source.

"Stop. Chasing. Her…" the voice spoke again, becoming frustrated. "…if y'know what's good for ya."

"What do you mean, you ghost? …or whatever you are!" Mal shouted. The voice seemed to hesitate.

"Huh, a _ghost_…that'd be pretty cool if I was!"

The voice, which was starting to sound increasingly female, became relatively content. Tamsyn and Mal were rapidly losing control of the situation, and their company apparently knew it too.

"Buuuut if y'really want her…you'll hafta get through ME, and I KNOW y'don't want that!"

"We're not scared! We were given a task and we're going to see it through!" Mal exclaimed. The girl apparently clicked her tongue.

"Not scared? Should be. I can be y'worst nightmare-"

"Come out already!" wailed Tamsyn. "We don't have all day!"

"Y'right," the girl announced, finally stepping out of the shadows, body illuminated by the glow of her hands. "…we don't."

Her face was still consumed by the shadows of the messed up lights, but a green, blue, and purple outfit could be seen on the girl- the opposite colors that the fire girl was said to be wearing. Tamsyn found this a bit strange, until the girl before them threw her head back and laughed before leaping into the air…then punched her bare fists into the ground.

A huge shockwave rushed out, purple crystals jetting out of the floor and knocking Tamsyn and Mal down with the resulting aftermath. The girl's laugh echoed in the hall again as she sprang over the fresh wall of crystal and landed before them. Not only were both her arms also covered in an armor of purple crystal, but they were sparking with some sort of electrical current. Tamsyn took this as a challenge and charged forward.

"Well, talk about a-" Mal slid his sunglasses over his face. "-shocking encounter."

Tamsyn rolled her eyes as she went in with her own fists. She admittedly held back a little, considering her opponent was just a little girl, but with how hard said little girl was fighting back, Tamsyn wasn't feeling as guilty about fighting hard. Her red hair swooped about as she tried to land a strike on the girl, but the girl deflected each punch and kick with her crystal armor. At one point, Tamsyn swapped to her Stun Baton to catch the girl off guard, getting in a few well-placed jabs that left her opponent discombobulated. However, Tamsyn went in one too many times, for the girl had learned Tamsyn's pattern and wrapped her crystal fist around the Stun Baton. This allowed her to absorb the charge right out of it, with Tamsyn's eyes growing wide in stark astonishment at her currently powerless Stun Baton.

"Well," commented the mystery girl, sparks of electricity dancing between her fingers. "…_that's_ nifty!"

Her whole hand suddenly burst into crackling lightning, which she then quickly threw at Tamsyn. Tamsyn was hit right in the stomach with it, sent flying straight through the cafeteria doors with a sharp cry. Mal gaped at the manhandling of his cousin before turning violently towards the girl.

"You're going to regret that-!"

"Eh hee hee! Yay! I getta play with y'next!"

Mal noted how slightly off kilter the girl seemed to be as he readied a kunai, glaring dangerously in her direction.

"What's your name before I take you into custody? At least give me the liberty of knowing."

The girl pondered this for a moment, breaking out into a toothy grin afterward. "…_fine_. Name's Lilia."

"Lilia? That's unique…"

"Yeah? Well y'better remember it well! For it'll be the last y'will know when I'm done with you!"

Mal blinked. "…you're just a little girl! What do you think you can do to me?"

"A lot of things!" Lilia sang sharply, jabbing her hand forward and sending out a shot of electricity. Mal swiftly ducked under the blow before darting forward with the knife. He wasn't really aiming to hurt her- just stun her or get her back down- but as she proved with Tamsyn, that wasn't going to be easy. Lilia cartwheeled forward and doubled kicked Mal, knocking him over while she triple jumped into the air and raised her fist.

"Yikes-!"

Mal rolled out of the way at the last possible moment, but the aftermath shockwave caught him again and tripped him up. Lilia smirked again, whirling around and knocking him back with a really strong punch.

"This would notta_ happened_ if y'just left us alone!" she howled, summoning more electricity and throwing it at Mal in powerful bolts. Mal easily sidestepped each of the shots, eyeing Lilia carefully.

"Us…? Are you in cahoots with that other girl?"

Lilia looked crazed when she charged forward again, fist extended as she launched. Mal ducked out of the way, allowing Lilia to get her fist wedged into the wall and opening Mal for a counterattack. He regretting hurting the little girl like this, but…she was clearly able to take it.

"Oomph-!" wailed Lilia, suddenly punched in the side and sent skidding along the floor. Mal approached her quickly with the intent to restrain her, but when he got close she suddenly grabbed his arm and hurled him up and over her head. Mal's eyes rolled around several times as he tried to make sense of what happened. Lilia struck a fighting stance from where she was and grinned.

"_Still_ wanna fight me?!"

"Not really, but you won't come quietly-!"

"I was lookinfa my hat! Wasn't tryna hurt anyone!" the girl cried, her crystal arm guards dissipating as she grabbed her head. "I checked this hall earlier and I accidentally killed the power with my abilities. I came back to look again and y'scared me-!"

"Your hat…?" Mal inquired, glancing at her head. Her unruly auburn hair certainly wasn't hidden by a hat, but you'd never guess her to be the type that would wear one. She almost looked like she was about to cry over the fact.

"We're not hereta hurt anyone," Lilia insisted, shaking her head wearily. "We're just tryna help within our boundaries, which…we've already broken, but-"

"What are you trying to do then?" Mal asked, trying to get as much information as possible.

"Something bad's gonna happen," Lilia whispered. "We're tryna stop it…but no one would listen! No one, no one, no one, no one, and now we're being hunted like animals-!"

"The school's leaders are just concerned for everyone's safety, and they don't know why you're here-"

"Yes. They. _Do_," Lilia suddenly said murderously, and Mal actually took a step back. "That's why they want us out; they don't believe something will happen…no matter what we said! We're just kids; no one EVER takes a child seriously…"

She pointed sharply at Mal, crystal armor creeping back up her arm and returning the protection.

"Y'think we're nuts too! We just wanna help, but y'are on _their_ side…"

The lights in the room, whatever was left anyway, suddenly started shining brighter, Mal shielding himself from the harsh light. Lilia's arms were glowing with increasing electrical strength, her expression twisting into a scowl.

"No one's listening…NO ONE'S LISTENING…!"

"H-hey, calm down-!" Mal yelped, but he made the mistake of stepping toward her, which she took as a threat.

The light bulbs burst.

She screamed again, punched her fists together and started grinding them against each other. The friction was creating a lot of static, and suddenly Mal had the bright idea of getting the heck out of there. He turned to bolt, but he was far too late and Lilia thrust one fist to the ground, emitting another small quake. Mal was tripped up by it, falling to the floor and allowing Lilia to use her other hand to send a shockwave of electricity forward.

"ARRRGH-!"

Mal had just wanted to do this peacefully; didn't even want to hurt her…but now he found himself sprawled on the ground temporarily paralyzed, a few volts shooting through him. Nothing deadly, but there was no way he'd be able to move for a few moments. Lilia just stood over him gaping, staring down at her hands slowly.

"I-I keep messing things up…but I just wanna be left alone so I can help…I'm in so much trouble…"

Lilia's eyes locked with Mal's and she began to tremble.

"D-Don't tell…" she stammered, backing away. "D-DON'T TELL…!"

Lilia wailed as she ran as fast her little legs would carry her. Mal watched her dash down the hall, slipping out his grasp once again…although now he was wondering if going after her was really what needed to be done. She was _incredibly_ unstable, certainly…but perhaps she really did mean well?

It was then that Tamsyn stumbled out of the cafeteria, grabbing her head and her stomach as she turned to Mal.

"Argh, sorry…I hit my head on a table and kind of…zonked," Tamsyn laughed. "Did you get her?"

"No, Tam, but…" Mal sighed, still unable to get off the ground. "…I think it's time we get the whole truth before we end up making a big mistake."

Tamsyn wondered what he meant, but with solemn yet perplexed look on his face, she knew that it was probably worth looking into.

For better or worse.

**Seventh Period, Study Room-**

Medusa detachedly drummed her fingers on her desk while Dark Pit slunk around in the corner, quietly observing things. Eventually, the students finally started filing in, turning in their assignments one by one. Many of them thought it was undeniably unfair to get homework in a class meant for _doing_ homework, but Medusa insisted on sharing her brand of wisdom, and the study hall time slot was her only opening. Hole walked by without an assignment and gave Medusa a look.

"…I'm_ not_ turning in an assignment for my _underling_," Holle huffed. Medusa scowled in return.

"You may be the boss of me in the Underworld, but as long as you insist on attending this school, you're stuck listening to ME for an hour out of every day, kiddo." Medusa held out her hand. "Assignment- _now_."

Holle rolled her eyes and tossed a blank piece of paper onto her desk; Medusa's hair snakes started to hiss violently. In any case, Holle turned contently away, noticing Ryker already in the room, leaning forward in his seat and resting his chin on his folded hands. She realized he looked like he was in a –relatively- better mood than fifth period, so she slipped into the seat next to him and lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Mmm?" was his intelligent response.

"Hey, you feeling a little better? If not, I'll leave you alone; I just wanted to ask…"

Ryker was quiet for a moment, still clearly deep in thought, but he eventually nodded. "Yeah. Guess I'm a good as I can get at this point."

Holle clapped her hands together. "_Sweet_. The dance is in a few hours, and I do want you to have fun, you know-"

"Yeah, about that-" Ryker started slowly, and Holle's face fell.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't want to go now-!"

"I'm still going," Ryker responded gruffly. "…I just might be…preoccupied, though."

"Psh, whatever," grumbled Holle, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "As long as I get my dance…"

She glanced back at Ryker, who was stuck in thought once again, though she didn't fail to notice _him_ looking back at Steelo, Ninty, and Penelope. Steelo and Penelope were laughing and Ninty seemed really disturbed. Holle wanted to know what was going on with Ryker's mind, but she already went too far once today; it was best not to push her luck.

"You gonna impose your infinite wisdom on these kids today or what?" Dark Pit scoffed at Medusa, cutting through the light conversations filling the room. Medusa glowered at the dark angel.

"I said you could_ leave_ weeks ago- don't take up space in my classroom if you're just going to fill it with your attitude!"

Dark Pit folded his arms. "What else am I supposed to do with my time? Go to Hero High with all those blind idiots? No thanks- I'll let my airheaded double take the brunt of that."

He flashed a killer smile.

"Besides, it's _far_ more interesting being here. It's like the kids here are smarter than their teachers-"

"Shut it," Medusa ordered, rising from her chair. "In any case, since Mister Sourpuss over there is_ so_ concerned for your academic well-being, I'll be giving out a reading assignment with some essay questions to do afterward-"

"But we have plans tonight!" shouted everyone in the room except for Dash, all of them suddenly trading glances at each other suspiciously. Dark Pit just chuckled and leaned against the wall.

"Heh, toldja this was more interesting-"

"Oh can it, Pittoo," sniffed Peri. "It's your fault we're saddled with homework…"

Dark Pit scowled at the usage of his unwanted nickname while Medusa's harsh stare cast over the class.

"What's happening tonight that is so important that a bit of homework jeopardizes that?"

The group exchanged looks again, although no one appeared to want to speak up. Medusa waited for the longest time for a response, but when silence insisted on replying to her, she threw up her hands and made her way to the door.

"Fine, then. You're still getting the assignment- I'm going to the office printer to fetch them. Dark Pit's in charge."

Dark Pit nodded in approval as Medusa vanished into the hall, with Zeborah instantly whipping around in her seat to glare at Steelo.

"What do YOU people have planned tonight…?"

"As if you're the only one who catches wind of news around here," Steelo scoffed with a smirk. Zeborah scowled and clenched her fists.

"So you know-!"

"None of your little friends spilled the beans, if you have to know," Steelo murmured. "Perhaps you're the one that did it yourself."

"What the HECK is going on!?" demanded Dash, staring at everybody. "You ALL knew about this all day?! I only just found out LAST period, and that was indirectly! Why did no one tell me?!"

Peri turned to Penji. "I thought _you_ told him!"

"I thought Junior was going to do it!"

Junior held up his hands. "H-hey, Zeborah made it very clear about who she wanted to know…"

"And those neutral scums found out anyway!" Zeborah exclaimed. Dash turned to Darcy, who looked utterly bewildered.

"Why didn't YOU tell me?!"

"I only found out a few hours ago, but we're not on very good terms at the moment," the wolf huffed. "Why're you so upset, anyway? Just a little dance-"

"We went over this earlier!" Dash exasperated. "Did I not mention how it felt like something big was going on and I wasn't a part of it, and now THIS is happening-!"

"THAT was before_ I_ knew, so don't get your tail in a bunch," Darcy grumbled, folding her arms and turning away. "And here I was almost going to ask if you wanted to come with my friends, but-"

"Your friends?!" Dash hissed. "You eat lunch with a group of losers _one day_ and suddenly you're best pals?!"

"At least they were there for me, unlike you ya backstabber!" Darcy shouted back, throwing her desk to the floor as she stood up out of it. "You wanna go, Bowman?!"

"I've put up with you enough!" Dash cried back, jumping on his desk. "Let's see your little buddies back you up now!"

"Woo, fight! Fight!" cheered Holle. "Let's make it bloody!"

"Don't encourage THAT!" winced Penji, wringing his mittens as Peri desperately tried to call the duo off.

"Well this escalated quickly," Steelo murmured, pulling down his hat. "But I suppose a little entropy is healthy…"

"Doesn't it bother you that everyone knows we're going now?" Ninty asked as he eyed Steelo curiously. Steelo shook his head.

"Nah, everyone outside our group hardly pays attention to us as it is anyway, and with Connor back in the picture, I guarantee their attention will be absorbed with him. We'll just do what we need to as quickly as possible, and they won't suspect a thing…"

Ninty noticed Steelo smirking darkly, and while Ninty was still on board with the plan, something was weighing heavily in the pit of his stomach, which he definitely _wasn't_ on board with. Penelope's chomping next to him wasn't really helping matters either.

"I gotta admit, I'm a little nervous," she remarked, rummaging through her bag of chips. "Never really been to a dance before…"

"It'll be fun, and I hear that the adults at Hero High DO know how to throw a mean shindig," Steelo laughed. "Guaranteed, we'll BE the life of their party…!"

"Or the death of it," sang Ninty, only to recoil when Darcy suddenly landed back-first on his desk. She snarled and pushed off to tackle Dash to the floor. Peri and Penji were desperately trying the yank them apart while Zeborah, Holle, and Junior were yelling incoherent things. Connor just blinked through the chaos and turned to Dark Pit.

"Shouldn't _you_ be doing something…?"

"No way; I'm getting a gold mine of info over here," hummed Dark Pit. "I'm thinking blackmail…!"

"That's deplorable."

"We're in an evil school," Dark Pit shrugged. "'Sides, I fight for myself. I can do what I want."

Connor shook his head as he arose from his seat, watching as his classmates turned into a rabid pack of animals- not mention the ones that already were, of course. He merely stood at the front of the room and held up his hand, snapping his fingers and commanding attention on the spot. More or less, people either gave him their attention because they respected him OR because they were shocked that he was relatively back to normal, but in an amazing display of control Connor managed to quell to chaos…although Darcy did get one last punch in on Dash.

"If you're all finished wasting your energies for nothing, get a grip," Connor demanded, folding his arms behind his back. "Obviously we all have the same plans and a common lack of communication, but there's no need to tear ourselves apart about it. We can go to same event and not bother each other if we so desire, no? Throttling someone isn't going to change that."

Darcy huffed as she let go of Dash and folded her arms. Dash shook it off and quickly scrambled to his feet, glowering at no one in particular.

"Y-Yeah, but you guys have been keeping me in the dark this whole time-"

"That stems back to the lack of communication," Connor pointed out. "I'm sure no one willingly intended to upset you by keeping the information under wraps. It already had to be a secret as it is…"

"Though Dark Pit knows now," snared Penelope, with all the kids turning to the angel, who was lying across the top of Medusa's desk casually.

"Like I didn't know about Hero High's dance already; it's all Pit's been thinking about lately!" he mused distastefully. "Still, who cares if you guys go? It's just a dance, and the doors are open to everybody- I'm not a killjoy, believe it or not."

"Yeeeeah, but I can't shake the feeling that you knowing will somehow backfire on us," remarked Holle. Dark Pit shrugged.

"I'm wounded, Holle. Don't trust me?"

"Not even as far as I can throw you."

Dark Pit maintained his indifferent bravado as Medusa returned, an armful of papers accompanying her. Quickly the class scrambled to put everything back in order and stampede into their seats, but Medusa was far more annoyed at Dark Pit sprawled out on her desk. Her snakes started to hiss; Dark Pit rolled his eyes and begrudgingly removed himself. Shaking her head, Medusa started to pass out the assignment.

"Due next class, kiddies!" she practically sang, although she got particularly nasty when she glided by Holle. "…and I _expect _it in full."

"Nah," Holle huffed, tossing the paper in the air making it vanish in a plume of smoke. Once Medusa was gone, she leaned in towards Zeborah, glancing around cautiously. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Zeborah was currently in the middle of nuzzling Connor's arm –"Zeborah, personal space!"- so it took her a few seconds to snap to attention.

"O-Oh, yeah?!"

"…I was just wondering if I could go over to your house later so I could get ready," Holle murmured quietly. "I'm…still new to this."

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Zeborah exclaimed. "But, um…I dunno if it's such a good idea. I mean, I have to sneak around my dad, and all-"

"You're welcome to prepare at my place," Peri cut in, adjusting her glasses. "My parents will be out late tonight, so we don't have to worry about outside sources finding out anything."

"Ooh, cool!" Zeborah squealed, clapping her hands together. "It'll be like we're normal for once!"

"Yeah, cuz an orange Gerudo princess, Goddess of the Afterlife, and a sickly Pokémon Trainer are really normal," Holle scoffed. Zeborah puffed out her lips.

"I meant as normal as we _can _be, without being labeled as villainous offspring or whatever…"

"Well if the girls are going to Peri's, the boys can come to my Pa's Castle!" offered Penji. "It's really big, and Pa won't even see us go in or out! Of course, there is Escargon and Bandanna Dee, but-"

"I still can't believe I agreed to this," Junior pouted, folding his arms. "Sounds like a bunch of girly fantasy hooey."

"Actually, dances are fairly popular with males and females alike," pointed out Connor. "Perhaps you're just embarrassed for not having any polished moves?"

"Oh _what_?!" Junior snapped, with the others snickering. "Like you secretly know the tango or something…"

Connor adjusted his collar. "Well, I _can't_ say I don't…"

Zeborah nearly melted in her seat. Dash nervously poked his fingers together in the seat behind her.

"H-Hey, you don't care if I go with you guys, right?"

"Of course not!" Zeborah exclaimed, snapping back. "Who knows, maybe there'll be some girl waiting for you when we get there!"

Dash beamed a bit, then offered to get back to researching Connor's cure. Connor nodded gratefully, trying not to address the fact that he had a migraine again. He really was enjoying his time talking with his friends, just like Zeborah had said. Worrying them would benefit no one…

Holle, meanwhile, had turned to ask Ryker if he'd be going to Penji's too, only to find him strutting over to where Steelo, Ninty, Penelope, and Darcy were gathered. She frowned a bit at this, watching as he plopped across from Steelo, sitting backwards in the chair.

"All I can say is that this all better be worth it," Darcy snarled. "I've put up with a lot lately…"

"Well, by the time this is over Darcy, I can guarantee that you'll never have to put up with anything ever again," Steelo assured. "But unload all your heavy feelings! We're going to a dance after all; a place where loosening up is very much welcome…"

Ninty had notably recoiled back from the discussion with his video game, dead silent, while Penelope was finishing up a second bag of onion rings.

"Not to pop any bubbles, but I'm far more interested in our plan than the dance itself…unless they've got a buffet table. THEN I'm all in!"

The group collectively groaned as Steelo laughed. "As long as everyone does their part, we'll be fine, and we'll have fun with it too, which is all I can ask for!"

He then finally acknowledged Ryker, flicking his green eyes to meet Ryker's orange ones.

"Ah, nice of you to join us, Ryker," he said implicatively. "I assume you have a response to my question from earlier?"

Ryker was stone quiet for the longest time, as if this was his last chance to back out of making a huge mistake. But eventually, he steeled himself and gave Steelo a firm nod.

"…yeah. I accept your offer."

Steelo adjusted his vest like he'd already known the answer, then extended his hand for a shake.

"You, sir, have my utmost gratitude for your patronage. You will _not_ regret it."

Ryker uttered something under his breath, but eventually shook Steelo's hand. He didn't particularly care for Steelo's plan, but…if it offered him a ticket straight to the sole person who had uprooted his life, then how could he refuse?

…and yet, the tiny ten percent shred of humanity left in him was screaming at him to turn back now.

**Seventh Hour, Battle Class-**

"Can we get any more awkward?" Starlos groaned as he arrived into Red's classroom, although he was thoroughly pleased that it was the last class of the day. As usual, Red was nowhere in sight, and Ethan was using the huge and empty space to glide around on his skateboard, while some of the students were huddled dramatically around Luke. Pink herself was checking him over for any manhandling.

"I'm so sorry; this is my fault…" she trailed, shaking her head. "I really should've talked to Purple first, and now you-"

"I told you it's okay," Luke chuckled. "It's all smoothed over now, and there are no hard feelings!"

"Man, I can't believe he didn't bruise that baby skin of yours!" exclaimed Marcus.

"I can't believe he's still _alive_," Zelda scoffed. "You got guts, Luke."

Luke threw up his hands. "I didn't do anything…!"

"Oooh, boys fighting over lil' Pink," laughed Ethan, riding his way over before braking next to the group. "What's your cousin gonna say about that?"

"No one is fighting over me! There was a just a bit of a snag in communication," Pink insisted. Ethan clicked his tongue and gave her a coy smirk.

"Oh, so then who _are_ you going with?"

"I'm not going to drop Luke like a hot potato just because I screwed up; that's not fair," Pink explained with her hands on her hips. "…besides, don't nudge in on _my _love life, Ethan. What was the name of that girl you hung out with before? The one with the Marill-?"

"Don't bring Lyra into this!" Ethan screeched, though quickly composed himself afterwards. "I-I mean, _whatever_, I'll leave you alone. I'm gonna get in a few more tricks before Captain Serious shows up and ruins my-"

"Ethan, that'd better not be your skateboard I see…!"

"Nevermind," Ethan sighed, strapping his googles to his face before giving the group a salute. "That's my cue to leave! See _you_ all at the dance!"

He quickly glided past Red, sticking his tongue out at him, before zipping out the door and nearly bowling over the arriving Purple, Lulu, Alph, Angelina, and Skippy. With the whole group assembled –and everyone watching Purple closely- Red pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to the group.

"Now, I know that it's the end of the day and you're all anxious for the dance-"

"EEEEEEEE!" squealed Angelina, with Coby rubbing where his ear supposedly was.

"Well,_ she's_ back to normal…"

"-but we just need to get through this hour first," Red finished. "Unlike Ness, I actually have a coherent lesson plan."

"Don't let HIM hear you say that," Tenn scoffed.

Red disregarded Tenn's snide comment and continued on. "In any case, today's an excellent day to go over strategy. It's been a while since we've done anything applicable."

Pikachu, who had been perched quietly on Red's shoulder, released a yawn, with Red giving him a quick and curt nod. Pikachu returned a skeptical look, but eventually hopped down and proceeded to stretch. Red then folded his arms, smirking slightly at the group.

"Now, we all know that Pikachu here is weak to Ground-type moves, but since very few of you have access to such abilities, you're going to have to come up with a craftier way to land a hit on him."

"You say that like it's hard," smirked Marcus, ignoring Pink slicing a finger across her throat. Pikachu looked less than impressed as Red gestured to his Pokémon.

"Then please, by all means Marcus, go ahead and try."

Marcus sauntered up, more than ready to take on the challenge, with Pikachu lazily looking back at Red for his command. Red swiped his hand out in front of him followed by a tilt of his head to the right. Pikachu's eyes flickered back to Marcus, who had pulled out his blaster and started to shoot during Pikachu's lull in attentiveness. Pikachu sprang up and avoided the blasts with a series of flips, Marcus noticing that its tail had started to glow.

"Pika, Pika-CHU!"

"Nargh-!"

Pikachu's tail whacked Marcus' blaster right out of his hands, followed by a split second midair rotation that allowed Pikachu to bop Marcus on the head afterward. Marcus went stiff on the spot, tumbling forward and falling like a mighty oak. Pikachu landed on his back legs aloofly while the class giggled and Red shook his head.

"…precisely the reason you can't go charging straight into anything," Red remarked. "While offense is the best defense, a full frontal attack to a speedy opponent leaves you highly vulnerable to a counterattack. Does anyone else have a method they'd like to try?"

Everyone was a little hesitant, especially after seeing Marcus out cold on the ground.

"No way," Angelina scoffed. "One hit from Pikachu's thunderbolt on me, and you'll have a nice plate of barbequed angel wings to serve as an appetizer at the dance!"

Coby actually looked enticed at the word "appetizer", but still no one wanted to step up. Eventually, Alph suddenly snapped his fingers and volunteered.

"Ooh, I think I've got something!"

Red merely gestured to Pikachu again. "Then go ahead."

Alph nodded eagerly and blew his whistle, with his Pikmin instantly scrambling through Red's door. Alph then selected the Yellow Pikmin, which Red didn't fail to notice, along with the Rock Pikmin. Alph then turned around and tossed his yellow Pikmin at Pikachu. It landed on the electric mouse's back, completely immune to the static and electrical attacks. Pikachu initially panicked, scrambling around as the yellow Pikmin did its work, with Alph hefting up the Rock Pikmin and grinning.

"This'll take care of him!" he chirped eagerly, heaving his heaviest and sturdiest ally at Pikachu.

Red titled his head, cast his arm forward, then punched in front of him.

Pikachu rolled to the right, smashing the yellow Pikmin beneath him and also evading the attack from the Rock Pikmin. The Rock Pikmin landed perfectly next to Pikachu, putting it in prime position for another Iron Tail. Pikachu's tail smacked harshly into the Rock Pikmin, sending it forward into the yellow one and launching them into the air. Alph instantly cringed as Pikachu plowed into the Rock Pokémon with a finishing Volt Tackle, the force of the strike knocking both back at the feet of Alph.

"Aw man…"

"Hey, don't feel bad! You had the right idea- using a Pikmin that's immune to Pikachu's strongest asset and another that resisted it was an excellent approach to take, showing that you considered your opponent before going into battle," Red remarked, with a recovering Marcus making a face afterward. "However, I was prepared for it, but I must give you props for coming close."

"Pikaaaa…"

Red glanced at the group. "He's still not impressed though, but _that's_ why he's not teaching."

Pikachu puffed out his cheeks and fumed. "Pika _pika_?!"

The class collectively giggled again as Red asked for the next volunteer. The group was clearly aware that Red's Pikachu was crazily prepared for anything, and the whole point of the lesson was to find a way to subdue an opponent without relying on their weakness…

"I'll go," offered Purple, with everyone quickly taking a step back. "…what?! I'm okay now, I swear! I'm not going to do anything…"

Pink sweat dropped as Starlos hung his head. Still, Red shrugged and motioned for him to step up, with Purple taking out one of his Pokéballs and tossing it out. Trubbish popped out, with Pikachu smirking in its direction. Purple scowled at his confident look before casting his arm forward.

"Trubbish, Toxic!"

"Trubiiii!"

Trubbish started right off the bat by casting a cloud of purple gas at Pikachu, who inhaled it and instantly turned purple in the face. He lurched forward and grabbed his stomach in a ridiculously sikckly fashion, like he would keel over at any moment.

"Pika-bleh…"

Red just clapped his hands, which really confused Purple, but just as he called for Trubbish to use Venoshock, Pikachu had used Fake Out, stunning Trubbish and leaving it open for a Thunderbolt. Trubbish toppled over after the attack, and while Pikachu took some damage from the poison, he was still standing.

"Oh, come on!" whined Purple, as Red sprayed Pikachu with an Antidote.

"Sorry, Purple. With you being a Poison-type trainer, I'm more than familiar with the possible strategies Poison specialists takes. Reminds me of my battle with Koga-"

"Yeah, yeah," Purple sighed, calling back Trubbish and hanging his head.

And so, it was a hurricane of failure, one attempt right after the other. Lulu tried a hit and run tactic, but Pikachu tripped her up with Fake Out. Pink twisted her hat backwards and called on Kadabra for help, but was promptly swatted away by Pikachu's Steel-type Iron Tail. Starlos tried humor-Thunderbolt. Coby copied Pikachu- was dodged, Faked Out, and Volt Tackled. Junichi hardly had the chance to move before Pikachu's speed reigned supreme and broke his stance…

The group was currently reeling as Tenn was trying to fix her hair, having been jolted by Thunderbolt after trying to get in a ranged physical attack with her golf club. Red adjusted his hat and promptly sighed.

"You're not thinking unconventionally enough-!"

"Not to mention you're asking us to take down a Pokémon Master's starter Pokémon!" whined Zelda, grabbing her stomach from where she was hit by Volt Tackle. Red shook his head.

"I didn't say you had to take Pikachu _down_; I just said you had to land a hit. No one's done that yet, unless you count Alph's distraction with the yellow Pikmin."

Alph was looking pretty proud of himself at this point.

"The true lesson here is that battling isn't always about trading blows! Sometimes, figuring out your opponent is like a puzzle; the most obvious solution may not necessarily be the correct one, and requires critical thinking and a creative mind to work around the situation at hand-"

"GAAAH!" wailed Luke unceremoniously, clamping his hand over his mouth as everyone stared at him. "…sorry, that just hit close to home."

"…hmm, you haven't gone yet, Luke; would you care to try?" Red asked. Luke shook his head and stammered.

"N-No! I can't hurt your Pikachu! I don't even have an attack, and uh, well…I'm not going to punch him."

A gleam suddenly crossed Red's eyes. "Then maybe you could attempt an approach that doesn't involve attacking?"

"Hey, don't give him a hint!" scoffed Angelina. Red adjusted his hat again.

"I didn't."

Seeing that there was no way out of it, Luke meekly stepped forward, in case that Pikachu would attempt an instantaneous attack like he did with Junichi. But Luke realized that while Pikachu had incredible endurance, it was still obvious that battling off all the students still took a slight toll, even if the battling wasn't terribly hard. Pikachu wasn't standing as straight and battle ready as he had before, and his eyes kept sagging-

Pikachu was tired.

Catching Luke's hesitance, Red wasn't going to show him any mercy either and motioned for Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, and suddenly Luke found himself about to be steamrolled by an electrically-charged mouse. As a last resort, he flinched, and burst out in Pokémon speak to tell Pikachu not to hurt him.

"Pika pika-CHU!"

Of course, Red was baffled by Luke suddenly speaking Pokémon, along with Pikachu himself, as he halted the attack in midair and landing just in front of Luke, blinking curiously. Luke then kneeled down, telling Pikachu that it was okay to rest now. Pikachu glancing behind at his trainer briefly before asking Luke what Red would think. Luke smiled slightly, saying that this was probably what Red wanted the entire time…and THAT is was made Pikachu lower his guard and drop his adrenaline, plopping into Luke's lap and mewling a yawn just like earlier. Luke chuckled a bit and rubbed Pikachu behind the ears, Pikachu chirping contently before falling into a nap.

"…didn't see that coming," Red admitted, hefting Pikachu up and away from Luke. He draped Pikachu over his shoulder as Luke stood back up again. "…how'd you manage to override my command?"

"Didn't you know? Luke can talk to animals!" exclaimed Pink brightly. "It's so cool, and he can even communicate with Pokémon!"

"It's…an acquired ability," Luke confessed, slightly flattered at Pink's praise. He quickly brushed it off when he noticed Purple scowling putridly though.

"Well, while technically you didn't land a hit, you did manage to subdue your opponent, so I approve," Red announced. "In any case, I hope you all take something out of this, and will work to improve your own strategies in the future."

The bell ending class, and school itself, finally rang, with Angelina releasing a high pitched scream into the air and flying straight out the door. The rest of the class prepared to follow suit, until Red halted them.

"Hey, I know I'll be chaperoning later, but I still want you guys to be careful tonight. Dances in general are known for being…susceptible to getting out of hand."

"Come, it's us!" cried Coby. "What's the absolute worst damage we could go?"

"…"

"Uh, Red?"

"…I'm not going to answer that," Red responded quickly, shaking his head. "Just go on and get out of here already."

"Woot woot!" wailed Starlos, leading the pack in marching out the door. Red watched them depart with varying degrees of enthusiasm, just as Pikachu stirred a bit on his shoulder. Red glanced over at his Pokémon, reaching back and patting his head.

"You did well, buddy. Take a nice long rest."

Pikachu murmured, half conscious, "Pikapi…"

"Are you going to help me keep the kids in check tonight?"

"…Chu."

"I didn't think so."

**After Seventh Hour-**

Luke had been the first to leave, reminding Purple about their arrangement before taking off. Purple had nodded, butterflies rising in his stomach again, when Starlos suddenly slammed into the locker next to him.

"All right, what have you and Luke cooked up?" the star demanded to know, with Purple suddenly turning a shade of red. "Because I know you too well to believe that you're TOTALLY okay with him taking YOUR dream girl to the dance-"

"Arceus, yell a little_ louder_, why don't you?!" Purple hissed, clamping his hands over Starlos' mouth. When Starlos had calmed down, he backed off. "Of course I'm not totally okay with this! Luke can totally charm any girl he wants without even _trying_-!"

"I KNEW IT!"

"But he's my friend," Purple finished sternly. "And he's got a plan to help me with Pink, and I'm going to trust him. I'm even going by his house before the dance."

Starlos' eyes lit up. "Ooh, a little pre-dance party?! I wanna go!"

"No- he only invited me!" Purple closed his locker shut and gave Starlos a serious look. "Just keep it under wraps and don't go spreading bad things about me!"

Starlos looked offended. "I would _never_."

"_Mm-hm_."

"Yeah, well, just try not to mess things up more than they already are," huffed Starlos. "You haven't even _talked_ to Pink since you stormed out of the room, have you?"

"…"

"…oh my goodness-"

"I'll _fix_ it, okay?!"

Grunting and grumbling to himself, Purple marched disgruntledly out of the building, Starlos tsking and shaking his head.

"I so don't trust him to not screw up…hate to do this, buuuuut…" Starlos made sure Purple was out of earshot, then hollered at the top of his lungs. "HEY GUYS! Luke's having a manly 'men-only' pre-dance party at his house! All the guys are welcome to get ready there!"

"All right, Triton's having a party!" cheered Marcus, already jogging down the hall. "I'm so there! You coming, Skip?"

"Sure, why not?" Skippy shrugged. "Didn't have any better plans…"

Coby nudged Junichi. "Hey, maybe we should go too!"

"Yeah; after all, the girls were going to meet up at Pink's house anyway," the hedgehog agreed. "We can have our own fun!"

"It won't be nearly as awesome as our get together," giggled Angelina. "I'm so excited! Makeup, hair, dresses, shoes, jewelry, talking about boys…! Who's with me?!"

Pink gave two thumbs up and a super happy grin while Zelda, Lulu, Tenn, and Elysia murmured to themselves with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Can I keep my Zero Suit?" asked Elysia.

"I'm not a fan of makeup," commented Lulu.

"Do we HAVE to wear dresses?!" moaned Zelda and Tenn. Pink and Angelina just rolled their eyes and ushered them out of the door, while Marcus, Skippy, Coby, and Junichi were right behind them. The only one not sprinting out the door was Damien, who was meticulously putting his books and homework into his satchel. He was finishing double checking everything, hardly noticing that the hall had cleared out completely, when the temperature suddenly rose.

"_Finally_, we're alone…!"

Damien made a face, pulling his bag out of his locker and shutting it…and found the girl with the fan suddenly standing next to him.

He _screamed _and cowered backward; she just looked innocently back at him.

"O-Okay, NOW you're just cropping up out of nowhere…?! Not even a warning or anything?" Damien exclaimed breathlessly. "And why do you only show up when no one's around, huh? What do you want from me? And-and-and-"

"Stammering isn't very becoming for a prince, is it?" the girl remarked as she fanned herself, raising an eyebrow. Damien shook it off and scowled at her. "I've been trying to talk to you all day, but I couldn't risk anyone seeing me, though YOU being the blabbermouth that you are told everyone about me and now I'm really in jeopardy…"

"Of course!" shrieked Damien. "You're so mysterious, and you're apparently not supposed to be here…people think you're evil for Farore's sake!"

"Definitely not," the girl scoffed. "Far from it, in fact."

Damien balled his hands into fists with building frustration and held back his urge to scream.

"Then just…STOP, okay?" he finally forced out, with the girl giving him a confused look. "I can't take how secretive you are…! I get the feeling that you want something from me, but you always keep running! I-I don't know what to think about you, or what I'm supposed to do about it…I don't even know your NAME."

Damien panted with pent-up anger, the girl casting her gaze at the ground.

"I…don't even know what your face looks like…"

The prince of Hyrule was fed up with this mystery girl's strange tactics. If she wasn't a bad guy, then why go to the extremes to hide herself so much? What did she possibly_ want_, from him no less, if she wasn't supposed to be in the school? Why did they always have to be alone? Why did she always run? Why…why…

…_who_ was she…?

"Rina."

Damien's eyes widened as he looked back up at the girl, her eyes starting to well with tears.

"…what did you say?"

"You can call me Rina," the girl sniffled. "I can't tell you my real name, but…you can call me Rina. I will answer any question you have as much as I can…but in return, you absolutely MUST listen to me and promise to help me."

"How can I promise to help you if I don't know what you want…Rina?" Damien inquired. Rina remained still.

"Listen, Damien…" she began quietly. "I know what I'm about to say may seem a little farfetched, but you absolutely must believe that every syllable I say is the absolute truth."

Damien squirmed slightly at how thick she was laying it all on. "How am I supposed to trust you…?"

"…I said I'd answer any question I can," Rina murmured. "So, go ahead. Start. But I'll tell you straight up now that I can't speak of my origin- especially with how you blab things you shouldn't to people!"

"How was I supposed to know you were a secret?" Damien huffed back, shaking his head. "…but fine. Tell me why you've been running away all day."

Rina put a hand on her hip and lightly fanned herself. "I needed to talk to you privately. Every time I tried to approach you, there was always someone coming, except for when you caught me watching Peach; _that_ was because you scared me."

"If you didn't want anyone knowing about you, why'd you reveal yourself to Junichi then?"

Rina gave him a look. "The poor kid was sobbing his little heart out, and it nearly broke mine…! He feared that his own parents didn't love him, and I'd be a monster if I didn't give him a shoulder to cry on…"

"So, you're NOT evil."

"No-"

"You're not neutral, are you?" Damien asked curiously. "Had a mishap with one a month ago."

Rina suddenly scowled. "Yeah, I know. But I assure you, I'm aligned with 'good'. I'm only here because I want to save everyone…!"

"What about that other girl?" Damien inquired, and Rina's expression instantly soured again. "She was causing havoc in the hall according to Luke; is she with you? What's her agenda?"

"_She_ is Lilia, and _she_…is my best friend." Rina said it contemplatively, like she was trying to choose her words carefully. "I brought her here to help complete my mission, but klutz that she is, she…um, lost her hat, and she's been tearing the place upside down trying to find it. She's very strong for someone her age, but ridiculously abuses her powers. Makes me _sick_."

Rina's eyes suddenly locked with Damien's.

"She is of no concern with what I need to tell you, though. _Don't_ worry about her."

"…okay," Damien nodded, though he still found 'Lilia's' explanation a little fishy. "Last question…"

"Fire away."

"…why do you hide your face?" Rina instantly went silent. "Are you ashamed or something? Do you have some sort of disfigurement you're trying to hide?"

"Disfigurement?! How insensitive-"

"Well sorry! I can't think of any other reason…"

"…well it's too early to tell you that," Rina trailed. Eventually she took a deep breath and sighed. "So, can I tell you want I need to now?"

Well, it WAS what he'd wanted since he first saw her…so Damien nodded, and Rina looked like she was going to cry again.

"Okay, like I was saying, it may be a bit hard to believe, but…I can see the future."

Damien was overwhelmingly disappointed and not the least bit impressed.

"Okay…? So can my mom?"

"Which is why I picked you to explain this to; you'd understand more than anyone!" Rina exclaimed. "_How_ I see the future is the kicker, though."

Damien was now interested. "What do you mean…?"

Rina's grip on her fan became taut. "I…actually have a twin brother. HE'S the one that _receives_ the visions, and _I _end up seeing them."

"Don't tell me your so-called brother's running around somewhere too-"

"I _WISH!"_ Rina's voice rose sharply as she nearly snapped her fan in two. Damien recoiled on the spot. "My brother's been in a coma for SIX years, and we just turned eleven…! YOU do the math!"

Damien instantly flushed with embarrassment. "…forgive my insensitivity. But, how do you know it's your brother giving you the visions if he's…?"

"He tells me telepathically," Rina explained. "He may not be with us physically, but his mind is still there, and_ very_ much conscious. He lives through me, in a sense…"

Damien could only nod sympathetically- he couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like living with something like that.

"Anyway, it's hard enough believing that my brother's conscious, let alone feeding me his insights, so my parents don't believe me! _No one_ listens to me! They think I'm crazy!" Her eyes were full of angry tears. "But he showed me something awful a month ago; a foresight that the Origin Point would be put under great stress again, and knowing what happened the last time-"

"The Big Crash," whispered Damien. "For the love of Nayru…!"

"-I was just trying to prevent another one…the vision showed me that the plan's trigger would occur tonight at the dance, so I begged my parents to come stop the dance, but they didn't believe in my visions! They…just…kept _ignoring_ me –no one EVER listens to a child- and today, I…"

She held her head high, face still concealed.

"…I had enough, and decided to take fate into my own hands."

"Rina, do you know exactly what kicks off the plan?" Damien asked with_ great_ concern, and Rina shook her head.

"N-No; that's why I was trying to stop the dance as a whole! I knew I couldn't do this alone, so that's why I planned to ask for your help…"

Rina was beside herself at this point, part relieved to finally get that all off her chest, and part terrified at the fact that she might not be able to stop what was to come. Damien, meanwhile, was overwhelmed by what Rina had explained to him. A plot to cause another Big Crash? Put into motion at a high school DANCE, no less?! It WAS crazy talk…! Even Damien wasn't entirely inclined to believe her, but…

…but she was right in saying that he certainly did understand.

His mother had explained to him more than once about one of their ancestors; the famed 'Princess of Destiny' who was the first in the royal family to be a Sage. She had foreseen impending disaster with the king's associate Ganondorf, who had plans of treachery…but as she'd been a child herself, her cries had gone unheard, even with Impa assisting her, and in the end…she'd been right.

Maybe it was the same here.

"…what do you want ME to do, though?" Damien wondered. "And…you seem pretty knowledgeable about Hero High. How come you don't attend?"

"Tch, don't ask _me_," grunted Rina, though she shook it off quickly. "But I need you and the other students to help me get to the bottom of this! The dance is for you guys, after all- maybe if you keep an eye out, we'll all catch whatever happens!"

Rina seemed pretty confident in that plan, but Damien still had a lingering question.

"I still don't entirely understand; this is clearly a serious thing you've foreseen, and something nearly all of the adults have been involved with firsthand," Damien explained. "Why haven't you approached any of them? I'm sure Principal Mario would help if you-"

"HA!" Her laugh was cold and unexpected, and it made Damien shudder. "Mario and the rest of the office faculty have been chasing me down _all day_, trying to_ stop_ me! That's why they called on those two nutty mercenaries- their 'top secret project' is getting Lilia and I out of Hero High, but we're just trying to help! Someone tipped off Luigi that I was here, plus Lilia said that someone had seen us on the cameras-"

"That would explain why you never stray too far from the lockers," Damien pondered. "…and, sorry about Luigi. He overheard _me_ at lunch, and he was acting pretty weird afterward."

"_Wow_ you're a blabbermouth; we've really got to fix that. You're crippling me at every corner!" Rina grumbled. Still, she softened up slightly and glanced away. "…although, Damien, I planned on hanging around here until the dance started, but with the adults still setting up and some after my head, it's not safe to risk it…"

She turned and battered her eyes at him bashfully.

"…so I was _wondering_ if you could do me a small favor and let me tag along with you until the dance?"

Damien instantly started blushing. "I-I…did you just ask me to the dance…?!"

Rina blinked and looked thoughtful, oblivious to Damien's stumbling. "Huh, guess I _kind of_ indirectly did. But really, I just need to get out of the school, and going home is _out _of the question!"

"W-Well, I was going to go to Luke's house with the other guys, but they said girls weren't allowed-"

"Oh, they'll understand!" Rina said brightly, clasping her hands together. "I'd love to meet everyone, since they know I exist thanks to a certain_ blabbermouth_…!"

She wasn't going to let it go, was she?

"What about your friend? Lilia, was it?" Damien asked. "Shouldn't you be with her?"

"I _told_ you not to worry about her," Rina insisted. "She's way better off than I am in the end…and she's already taken of. _I_ need help."

"Okay, okay…I _guess_ you can come with me," Damien finally caved, with Rina squealing in delight afterward. He watched as she pranced around happily like everything was suddenly right with the world. Her face was still hidden by the fan, but he could only imagine the smile on her face as she laughed. Eventually her celebration was cut short, as she grabbed Damien and started making tracks for the door. Even through the fabric of her gloves and his sleeves, her grip felt undeniably warm.

"All right, let's go catch up with everyone, then! I've got a really good feeling about all this!" she exclaimed, although she did brake to a stop when a realization dawned on her. "Um…who's Luke, and…where does he live?"

Damien sighed and took the lead. "Just, follow me…"

Rina nodded eagerly, matching Damien step for step. He glanced over his shoulder at her wide blue eyes beaming with innocence…and he wondered if she'd really seen such a calamity, courtesy of her comatose twin brother. She was right, it WAS exceedingly farfetched, if not downright disturbing and somewhat bizarre, but if_ she_ was telling the truth…then for what reason would _anyone_ have to go to lengths trying to stop her?

…_Why _would they even want to?

* * *

><p><strong>...And thus, end Act 1! Baaaah there's so much I wanna say but spoilers. ;-;<strong>

**In any case, the next chapter starts the dance arc, which should be _fun_, mwah ahahaha. **


	10. Not Here For Your Entertainment

Gaming's Next Generation

Part 10: Not Here For Your Entertainment

When her son came home that night, Brenda Triton was surprised to see him running around in a whipped up frenzy; rifling through closets, tuning his violin, and even putting out a bowl of snacks. Brenda watched quietly as he scurried around, until she finally halted him after he got his tie caught in a door. A small smirk on her face, she freed him from entrapment but hung onto him to prevent him from scurrying off again.

"What's the rush?" she chuckled, Luke running in place to keep going. "Are you expecting someone?"

"Yes, Mum. Sorry for the short notice, though- I hope that's okay!"

"No problem here, sweetie," Brenda beamed. "It's been a while since you've actually had anyone over…is it that Pink girl who asked you to the dance?"

"No." Luke adjusted the bowl of smack to put it at a proper degree. "Just a friend from school. He's having girl troubles so I came up with a plan to help! …say, where's Dad?"

"Still at work," commented his mother, hands on her hips. "Another late night, it seems…"

"Too bad he didn't just become an archeologist like he went to school for," murmured Luke, pulling an old coat from the closet. He shook his head and put it back, claiming it too be too big. Brenda frowned slightly as Luke kept marching around.

"He does his best, you know; taking opportunities when presented…"

Luke, turned away from her, made a face. "Yes, Mum. Learned that one quickly when he resigned from a mayor position and brilliantly shipped us all off to America."

Before Brenda could properly reply, there was a rapid assault of knocking and door bell ringing, and while Luke was slightly confused at the forceful nature, he hurried over and answered the door.

"That must be-"

…Well, Purple WAS certainly standing there…with his arms crossed and looking undeniably ticked while Starlos stood next to him shrugging aloofly…also along with Junichi, Coby, Marcus, Alph, and Skippy behind him. Luke gaped at them for the longest time, then glanced back at his mother who was trying to get a peek at who'd arrived.

"…give me a sec!" he shouted, throwing himself out the door and shutting it behind him. He leaned against it almost protectively as he stared bewilderedly at his classmates. "…what are you people doing at my house?!"

"Well, I'M supposed to be here," Purple remarked, glowering at Starlos. "But clearly, you can't trust anyone in this day and age…!"

"I have my reasons," scoffed Starlos. "Don't treat me like the bad guy!"

"…remind me to throw you out a window as soon as I get the chance."

Starlos remained tight-lipped as Junichi scratched his head. "Wait, so there's no party…?"

"I thought I saw a bowl of snacks in there-" Coby began, until Luke let out a wail.

"You guys can't go in there- my mum's going to freak!"

"Why? Didn't you tell her that friends from school were coming?" Marcus asked.

"I said _**A **_friend was coming…and I haven't exactly told her that such classmates consist of a punk, orange blob, talking animals, a kid astronaut, and green star-shaped…thing!"

"Damien's coming too-" pointed out Skippy, with Purple groaning again and Starlos grimacing. Luke stood there wordlessly as his eye twitched.

"Come on, Luke- you can tell us how to be true gentlemen for the ladies!" Marcus insisted, smoothing back his fur. Luke just put on a blank face.

"…I'm going to talk to my mum…"

Luke stepped back into the house, shutting the door as Purple went off on an angry tangent at Starlos. Luke cringed at the bickering while Brenda asked what was up.

"…you know how I said a friend was coming? Well…make that every boy in my class."

Brenda blinked and leaned her cheek in her palm. "O-oh. When did you get so popular?"

Luke _certainly _wasn't going to tell her that it was because he got a crazy and borderline psychopathic person kicked out of the school.

"I, well, I just thought only one person would show up…and I was wrong…so, um-"

"Any friend of yours is welcome here, darling," Brenda announced with a small smile. "I'm just glad you've made some nice friends!"

"You haven't met them yet…" Luke mumbled under his breath as he returned to the door. "Just…don't be shocked or anything when you see them. Where they come from, their appearances are the norm."

"All right, kiddo. You know I don't judge."

Luke took a deep breath and dramatically- and slowly- pulled open the door. Nearly everyone filed in with relative normalcy and politeness, but as always Coby had to make a scene. He dashed through the door with unparalleled gusto and instantly attacked the bowl of snacks Luke had put out. Brenda's eyes had bugged out, but Luke just slid his finger across his throat.

"…anyway, _that's _Coby, and they are Purple, Marcus, Skippy, Junichi, Starlos, and Alph."

"Nice to meet ya, Mrs. Triton!" Marcus exclaimed, holding out his hand for a shake. "Luke is a really great kid!"

"Pleasure to meet you as well," Brenda replied, a little more comfortable now. Junichi shyly twirled his fingers together and glanced at Coby with light blue eyes.

"Erm, sorry about Coby…he's literally a bottomless pit."

"But it was certainly tasty!" Coby exclaimed, his mask having fallen onto his face afterwards. "My compliments to the chef!"

"Coby, I dumped a bag of trail mix in there," Luke deadpanned. Coby shrugged.

"My point still stands."

The group snickered lightly- except for Purple, wondering what he was supposed to do with this crowd- when there was a dignified knock at the door. Luke was little more relaxed, figuring that it was probably Damien, and to his relief it was…though Damien appeared more nervous and flustered than expected. Damien tried to open his mouth to explain something, but a blur of red and flames suddenly emerged from behind him and started shaking Luke's hand.

"Hello, Luke! I've heard a lot about you! It's so nice to meet you!"

Luke just gaped at the strange girl rapidly shaking his hand. At the sound of the female voice, the rest of the guys piled in through the doorway, and all of them collectively cried-

"Who IS she?!"

"Girl, GIRL!"

"A_ female_?!"

"Hey, that's the girl who I saw in the hall!" cried Junichi.

Damien pinched the bridge of his nose. "This…is Rina. The girl who's been stalking me all day."

"And that's Damien, the boy who's a big fat tattletale," remarked Rina as she let go of Luke and started fanning herself. Coby stepped forward and stared at Rina.

"Wow, Zelda was right. You ARE going with her to dance!"

"She asked me!" Damien suddenly cried, before composing himself. "I-I mean, she has urgent business to attend to at the dance and requires our assistance."

"Urgent business at a Hero High dance…?" remarked Marcus. "Sounds sketchy."

"Dude, she doesn't even go here!" Starlos exclaimed.

"I thought no girls were allowed at this party-?" wondered Junichi. Luke threw up his hands.

"I wasn't having a party to begin with!"

Rina sashayed through the boys and entered the house, glancing around. "Ooh, I love this living room! Simple, quaint, and not over done!"

"Well thank you, dear!" Brenda exclaimed. "Decorated it myself!"

"Well ma'am,_ you_ have exquisite taste!"

Brenda beamed again as she trotted off to the kitchen to fetch some more snacks. Meanwhile, Damien rolled his eyes and spun Rina around to face him. "Instead of admiring the décor, how about telling my friends why you've been slinking around to begin with?"

Luke, Purple, Alph, Skippy, Junichi, Coby, Starlos, and Marcus huddled in the living room, circling Rina and wondering the answer as well. Rina seemed a little miffed, but ultimately shrugged.

"Well, it'd be better if everyone was here…where are all the girls at?"

"They're getting ready at Pink's house," commented Starlos. "Thank goodness we get to avoid all that girly squealing…"

"Yeah, impending doom stuff sounds far more interesting!" Coby exclaimed. "So what's up?"

Rina held up her free hand to halt all questions before speaking up. "…all right, but I'm only going to say this once to save us time! I already gave the unabridged version to Damien…"

Damien glanced away.

"Long story short, I received a vision of the future; one that predicts another disruption of the balance of the Origin Point," she explained, with the boys nearly doubling over. "A month ago, I saw…the two halves of the Origin Point's core being put back together. And when that happens, the Origin Point will revert back to its original state, inadvertently creating another Big Crash that won't be able to be stopped…!"

"Waaaaaah! That's terrible!" shrieked Junichi. "B-But what does that have to do with the dance tonight?"

"The vision showed me that the plan that kicks it into motion happens tonight at the dance, and as I was unable to get the dance cancelled, I was forced to come to Hero High to try and stop it from there," Rina explained. "But none of you were supposed to know I was there; I had just wanted to talk to Damien…but now that you all know I exist, you might be able to help me!"

"I…don't get it, though," commented Skippy. "You know the plan 'kicks off' tonight, but you don't know WHAT that is…?"

Rina shook her head. "I just saw the two halves of the core being brought together, the destruction it wrought, and then it showed me a vision of tonight, with a dark figure standing in front of a vault or something…but as I've never been in Hero High until today, I've no idea what or where it was…"

"Hey, that's like what Sonic showed us this morning- the Harmony Core is in the Harmony Vault beneath the school!" Alph recalled.

"And if the plan is to put the cores back together…" trailed Coby.

"Then obviously someone's trying to break into the Harmony Vault!" Luke exclaimed. Purple shook his head.

"But that door can only be opened by Team Mario; there's no way anyone could just waltz in."

Damien snapped his fingers. "But what about Tails' failsafe? The Master Charm or whatever?"

"That's also ridiculous- no one even knows what it looks like, let alone where it is!" Marcus cried. "So…if no one can even get into the vault, why worry about it? Seems like we're okay to me."

"…unless someone found the Master Charm…" murmured Starlos, and everyone except Rina suddenly went rigid.

"That's gotta be what happens tonight!" she cried. "We have to stop whoever finds the-"

Alph stopped her and shook his head. "There's…not much we can do. The only way to even get to the vault itself is through the Janitor's Closet, and only Tails has the passcodes."

The stir of excitement rapidly decreased after that blatant point was brought to light.

"Besides, they'd need to Discipline Core to do anything damaging," shrugged Marcus. "And WE don't even know where it is. We just know it exists."

Rina suddenly became dejected, her shoulders sinking. "Are you saying…you don't believe me?!"

"N-no, but…it does seem _really_ unlikely," Junichi murmured, hanging his head. "S-Sorry…"

"The odds of _anyone_ bypassing all that security is really, really impossible," remarked Skippy.

"But I saw someone at the vault!" Rina yelped, and suddenly, she found Luke vouching for her.

"…we _have_ to believe her, at the very least," he said quietly, with everyone doing a double take. "…because she knows something that she shouldn't, unless she really did see it in a vision."

"Whaddya mean?" Coby chirped, and Luke adjusted his cap.

"Guys, WE just found out about the Harmony Vault _today_…and Rina definitely wasn't with us when we did."

Rina nodded eagerly as Marcus stepped forward. "But Luke, she's also been slinking around the school all day! She could've easily heard Kirby or Sonic or anyone talking about it!"

"However, she claims to have seen the vision a month ago," Damien pointed out.

"She could've just lied about that," huffed Purple. "And even if all this IS true, we don't even know what to look for, nor can we send anyone down to the vault to guard it. It's clearly out of our power."

"In that case, why not just tell an adult?" Alph asked innocently, with Rina instantly going berserk.

"No, no, no, no, NO! They won't believe us!" she howled. "They've been after me all day! They've been trying to stop me from preventing this from happening! They're no use at all!"

"But this is the kind of thing they ALWAYS take seriously; why would they try and stop you if they knew better?" questioned Purple. "Still seems a bit sketchy to me."

"What if you're trying to trick us?! It's a conspiracy!" wailed Coby.

"I say we don't get involved at all and just get ready for the dance," stated Marcus. "We're burning daylight, and if something does happen, the adults will most certainly be on top of it."

"Obviously NOT if the universe is going to collapse on itself again!" Rina wailed, as Marcus and Coby turned to head for the snacks Brenda had set out in the dining room. "Guys, you have to believe me-!"

"We're_ not_ getting involved!" Purple insisted. "Come on, Luke- we've got to prepare and find me a suit."

"If you're looking for something to wear, gentlemen, there's plenty of Luke's grandfather's old clothes in the attic," Brenda pointed out. "I'd be more than happy to let you borrow some, and I'll even make some minor adjustments if you need them."

"That'd be great!" exclaimed Marcus, hurrying after Purple and a reluctant Luke.

"Yeah, thanks! Luke, your mom is SO cool!" added Skippy. The boys instantly followed Luke toward the stairs, while Rina was left behind with Damien and Junichi. The girl turned to the purple hedgehog and frowned.

"…please tell me you believe me," she said softly, and Junichi's eyes flashed to brown.

"I do, I really do, and I want to help, but Purple's right…it's just out of our capabilities."

"I refuse to believe that," Rina said sternly, narrowing her eyes. "The future is never set in stone, and neither is this one, but we have to take action first! If we do nothing, we're only dooming ourselves…!"

"I'll…keep an eye out, but I really don't think there's anything to worry about," Junichi finished, scurrying off to join the others. Rina watched him leave with wide eyes, before plunking down on a nearby sofa and sighing. Her gaze rolled over to Damien, who was wrapped in his cape and looking contemplative.

"…I won't force you to help me," Rina said quietly. "_I'm_ still going to try, of course, but I guess I shouldn't have attempted to drag others into it; I've already put Lilia in jeopardy, along with myself…"

Her face twitched behind her fan.

"Why can't I get people to believe in me? That's the one skill I wish I inherited…"

"…I'll believe you," Damien suddenly spoke up. "I greatly think this warrants investigating, although the bizarre circumstances surrounding you have me cautious. And yet…"

He turned slightly so he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

"I can tell you've taken many risks just to get this far, and to pry too deeply would be disrespectful of me…everyone must have their secrets, no matter how big or small. It's just a part of being humane…and I am willing to see if what you speak is true. It's a chance I'll take myself."

He then told her to wait there as he went to prepare with the rest of the boys, Rina sadly watching him trot away. She then got up and headed over to the snacks that Brenda had put out. Brenda noticed her snacking alone, and asked if she was wearing that dress to the dance.

"Um…yeah, I guess," Rina shrugged, studying her red, orange, and yellow threads. "It's what I wear everyday though, not that I have a choice…I have a closet full of these."

"Well, the boys don't have to be the only ones to have fun dressing up!" Brenda beamed. "I've hung onto a few dresses myself, if you're interested in changing up your wardrobe for tonight."

Rina shut her fan and instantly beamed at Brenda. "That would be great, thank you! I can't remember the last time I had a fresh ensemble…"

"Then I'd be more than happy to help!" Brenda laughed, heading off to fetch the dress options. "…and might I say, you look a lot nicer without that fan covering your face. It's nothing to hide by any means."

"Thanks, but…" She put her hands on her hips and frowned. "…I don't like being defined by looks."

**Pink's House-**

In Pink's cottage deep in White Forest in Unova, not surprisingly Pink and Angelina were already decked out in their dresses, jewelry, and hair styles, and were now working on transforming the other four. Angelina was brushing the knots out of Lulu's fur while also selecting some matching jewelry for Elysia's dress, while Pink was putting some eye shadow on Zelda and telling Tenn that she looked fine in her dress.

I do _not_!" Tenn whined, referring to the sweeping gold ball gown she was draped in. "It's poufy and large and makes me look fat and it's not me!"

"It's supposed to look large- that's the point of the dress," Pink laughed. "Zelda, quit blinking-!"

"I told you I didn't want any eye makeup!" the princess hissed, trying to prevent her eyes from twitching. "I allowed the lip gloss and nail polish, what more do you want from me?!"

"Hey, I agreed to no eyeliner- hate that stuff- but we've still got mascara to apply!" Pink insisted. She then grabbed a powder brush and started painting Zelda's face with blush. "Just a nice touchy of rosy red-"

"AUGH! Make the torture end! Waaaaaaa-!"

"Oh, stop," Lulu sneered. "At least you weren't plastered with glitter and perfume! I happened to like my natural scent!"

"Glitter is awesome," Angelina insisted, now combing Lulu's fur. "Besides, any boy you dance with will appreciate the scent of _cherry_ _vanilla dream_ with a _hint_ of ginseng-"

"What IS ginseng?!"

Angelina ignored her as she tossed pair of earrings at Elysia. "Here, dear. Try those on!"

"But…my ears aren't pierced…" Elysia trailed, awkwardly fumbling with her necklace.

"Then grab the layered emerald clip-ons!"

"The what-where?"

"Uggggghhh…"

Tenn kept writhing uncomfortably and poking at her head. "MAN, my hair feels like it's choking my head it's wound so tight…!"

"Well your hair was ridiculously LONG, Tenn!" Angelina exclaimed. "We had to put it up!"

"No you didn't! What was wrong with it down?!"

"That's how you usually wear it, and it wouldn't curl either," Pink pointed out, now sliding a hairclip to hold back Zelda's bangs. "Thus, you're stuck with the bun. Looks cute."

"How are we supposed to fight in these impractical things?!" complained Zelda, holding up her foot to reveal a short heeled slipper. Pink pushed it back down.

"It's a dance! You_ dance_, not fight!"

"How can I_ dance_ if I can't even walk or stand?!"

"Where is my bandanna?! I wanna rip this dress-!"

"Don't you DARE! It was woven by _several_ Leavanny!"

"That means NOTHING to me! This thing is hideous!"

As Angelina few over to help Pink prevent Tenn from massacring her dress, Lulu just shook her head.

"It is going to be a loooong night," the rabbit sighed. Elysia nodded.

"No understatement there…"

**Peri's House-**

Things were a _lot_ calmer in one of the many apartments in one of the many skyscrapers of Black City, where Peri was more than happy to have friends over. Holle was looking slightly nervous as Zeborah tried to fix her hair into a manageable style, and Cubchoo was standing on the table holding a box of hair products to help. Peri had been the first to receive one of Zeborah's makeovers, after Zeborah had spiffed up herself.

"I think you were right, Holle; half-pony does work the best!" Zeborah exclaimed. Holle just stared at herself in the mirror and frowned.

"Yeah, okay…"

Zeborah glanced down at her and grimaced. "Hey, if you don't like it, just say so-"

"No, it's not that…I'm just worried about Ryker," Holle pouted. "Apparently he's been talking to Steelo's group and he suddenly changed attitude…"

"Psh, Ryker's always got a weird attitude-" Zeborah began, but Peri made a face as she cleaned her glasses.

"I don't know, Steelo is…a bit of an influencer," Peri explained. "He's ridiculously crafty and knows exactly how to talk to people to get them to bend to his will."

"But what would he want with Ryker?" Holle asked. "And why…would Ryker even bother talking to him?!"

Peri just shook her head. "Steelo does the impossible…"

Zeborah suddenly looked gossipy and leaned in towards Peri. "Say…you don't have a…_thing_ for him, do you?"

Peri blanched and looked sicker than usual. "Oh, _yuck_! I can't stand him! That ego of his could fill a building…besides, he's totally skirt-chasing Pink."

"Oooh, scandal!" Zeborah cried, accidentally pulling a little too tightly on Holle's hair. Holle hissed in response, with Zeborah instantly swapping to Holle's makeup.

"…anyway, doesn't your rival like Pink too?"

"That skunk bag Purple? Completely," scoffed Peri. "…but jeez, they treat _me_ like I don't even matter, or that I'm not as important as they are!"

She grimaced as she fiddled with a light blue corsage on her wrist.

"In our little group, I'm the one to always lose…Purple always find a way poison my delicate Pokémon, and Pink's relentless! Then Pink has _never_ lost to Purple, and Steelo…he manages to always win against all of us, but I think it's only due to his type-advantage, _not_ skill."

"How you meet Purple, anyway?" murmured Holle.

"He actually lives in the next door apartment. We only met because our parents are friends, so he'd was forced to play with me when we were younger, but he was always gross and never even liked my company that much. Once we came of age to have our own Pokémon, I vowed that I would get back at him by becoming a better trainer, but…that didn't happen. I'm actually glad he met Pink because she knocked him down a few pegs, heh heh."

"And…what? Did Steelo just show up out of nowhere?" Zeborah wondered, prodding Holle with eyeliner. Peri hung her head.

"Pretty much, yes. See, Purple and Pink were traveling together for a while, and I'd caught up and challenged Purple to a battle. 'Course I lost, but afterward, Steelo came outta nowhere with his Skarmory and challenged all of us, though he was only even remotely impressed with Pink. He kept heckling me for my bad performance, and ugh- I just can't get better…so I've been thinking about going into contests like Penji suggested. It's a much easier goal for me."

"Well, if you do become a coordinator, tell me!" squealed Zeborah. "I hear Pokémon Contests are really a sight to behold!"

"Sure," Peri said softly, nodding. "And maybe if I go big enough, I can finally get the money for some proper medicine for my illness…"

"Cub cub?" mewled Cubchoo, so Peri picked him up and gave him a quick cuddle. Holle watched the display and smirked.

"You know, Peri, you're pretty cool. No pun intended. We…should hang out more often."

Peri brought her head up and beamed. "You really think so?! That's a high compliment to get from a goddess-!"

"Eh, I'm like a junior goddess compared to some of the others," Holle shrugged. "But I might be as big as Palutena and Viridi someday, who knows?"

"You're already very important, Holle," Zeborah assured, putting the last finishing touch on Holle. "…and, all of us are finally finished!"

She whirled around Holle so she could see in the mirror herself, and the goddess' amber eyes widened with shock.

"I-I-I…"

"Yes?!" Zeborah said eagerly. Holle reached up and touched her left cheek.

"…I'm pretty."

"No, you were pretty already! But just a subtle touch of makeup makes sure other people know it too!" giggled Zeborah with a wink. "Now let's go! I'm drooling over the thought of Connor in a tuxedo…eeeeeee!"

Holle and Peri instantly grimaced.

"TMI there, Princess…"

**Castle Dedede-**

Connor, Dash, Penji, and Junior, being the reserved and efficient _men_ they were, had gotten ready long ago, and were now just impatiently waiting for it to draw closer to the time for the actual dance. Junior was looking really bored with his simple blue bowtie, Dash was eating the appetizers Penji brought –smuggled- from the kitchen, and Connor's leg was bouncing up and down like crazy. Junior eventually had to glare at him.

"_Stop_ that."

"Sorry," Connor murmured, looking like he was in actual pain. "…I've got a migraine."

"Then why's your _leg _bouncing?!"

"I was trying to draw attention away from it."

"It's not working."

"Maybe he's just nervous that he's got a hot date with Zeborah," Dash teased, and Connor made a face.

"No, that didn't cause the migraine. _That_ caused the somersaults in my stomach!"

Penji immediately scrambled off to fetch him a pain reliever, but as he was rummaging around in the bathroom, he unfortunately heard the call of the last person he wanted to hear.

"Master Penji? Is that you making all that noise?!"

"Yes, Escargon!" Penji called back, hurriedly tucking the object in his pocket. The purple snail happened to glide right by the bathroom just as Penji was prepared to leave. The penguin flashed a small smile, which only served to pique Escargon's curiosity.

"What exactly are you doing, young Sire?" he demanded to know, studying Penji closely. "Your father is out at the moment, and I thought I heard you talking to someone..."

Penji rapidly shook his head. "N-nope! Um...Bandanna Dee was here earlier and I was...talking to him!"

Escargon nodded, seeming to buy it. "...well okay. You know you've got some studying to do tonight, and if I don't see to it His Majesty is going to slug me!"

"But...you're a snail..." Penji deadpanned. Escargon nervously grabbed his head as he darted away.

"I knooooow!"

Penji just blinked as Escargon escaped for the moment, leaving Penji to return to the living room where his friends were waiting. Any second thoughts he had about sneaking out vanished when he returned to Connor, offering him the medicine with a small smile. Connor gratefully accepted it, although he was still looking a little worse for wear.

"Don't worry, Connor! I'm sure everything will be fine!"

"I dunno, Zeborah was apparently really looking forward to it and I don't want to ruin it for her…"

"You better not!" Junior exclaimed obnoxiously at Connor. "The only reason we're ALL going is because of you, so don't blow it!"

Dash glanced at Connor as he reached for his head and tried to rub the pain away. The albino monkey was quickly realizing that if a cure wasn't found for him soon-

"Hey, where's Ryker, anyway?" Junior suddenly asked. "Wasn't he supposed to be here too?"

"I…asked him," Penji trailed, shuddering. "But he said he was going to arrive with Steelo's group."

"Jerk," huffed Dash. "He was supposed to go with Holle!"

"I…think he's meeting her there," Penji pointed out. Connor drummed his fingers on his lap.

"Then we can only imagine what he's doing right now…"

**Outside Villain Prep-**

Steelo was waiting on the steps of Villain Prep, decked out in his finest silver suit- and twice as glamorous as his normal outfit- simply relaxing and enjoying the night sky while he waited for the others to arrive. He was dangerously content and calm, given what he was about to begin tonight, but as he was certain that nothing would prove a snag in his plan, he was all good.

Eventually Ninty arrived, looking particularly grumpy as he waltzed up in khakis and a button-up shirt, though was still wearing his red and blue beanie. Steelo resisted the urge to snicker.

"What the…did your _mom_ dress you?"

"Shut up! And of course not- I had to dig around my dad's hand-me downs for something that wasn't shorts and my shirt. I look like a poser!"

"I suppose it'll pass, but this is a masquerade, remember?" Steelo reminded him. "Your beanie will give you away."

"Mrrnghgh…" grunted Ninty, but he whipped off his beanie and shoved it in his pocket as best he could. "…man, if my parents find out I snuck off to where I got expelled, they're going to freak out!"

"Hey, if anything gets beyond my control, we'll bail no problem! Tactical retreat!" Steelo exclaimed, passing a fashion mask to Ninty. "As long as everything goes according to plan, everything will be _flawless_…"

"Yeah…about that plan of yours…" Ninty trailed, glancing at the ground as soon as Steelo's green gaze fell on him. "…are you sure you know what you're getting into? I mean, the details you gave to me have been a bit…vague."

Steelo fully whirled around and faced Ninty, leaning on a cane that he brought to complete his outfit.

"Ninty, _remind me_, what was our goal again?"

"…to demonstrate the benefit of complete and utter neutrality."

"Correct," Steelo nodded, smiling emptily. "And what's the only object in the entire universe standing in the way of establishing such bliss?"

"…the Origin Point's core."

"Precisely. And today, we've finally managed to get the information we've been spending a month trying to find!" Steelo exclaimed. "The timing couldn't be more perfect! It's as if this was by grand design…!"

Ninty gulped.

"But pray tell, Ninty; is something bothering you?" Steelo continued, raising an eyebrow. "As your best friend and number one confidant, you can tell me anything."

Ninty hesitated for a slight second, then glanced away again. "…isn't there an easier way to do things?"

"Ninty." Steelo's face was blank, and it almost scared the male psychic how quickly Steelo had changed. "I would love for there to be an easier way…I would love for there to be a way to just snap my fingers and save everyone from the falsified belief of right and wrong…but alas, I can't."

He started pacing around Ninty, twirling his cane alongside him.

"As long as the Origin Point's core is in two, people will identify with one side or the other, using a hierarchy system of good and bad that had existed long before our time…" He shook his head. "We are special; a selective few able to take the blinders of reality off and see life for what it_ truly_ is, not tinted by what people dictate we should do or stained by the ideas of conformity…"

Steelo stopped in front of Ninty; Ninty gulped again.

"Aren't you _tired_ of being cast as a deviant for your beliefs? Doesn't what YOU think count too? When you were at Hero High, you gave a valiant and incredibly truthful speech, and what did they do? Did heroes and villains alike listen? No- they scorned you. Punished you for speaking your mind. Disregarded you like you were some kind of lesser life form…! Even your family is silently disgraced!"

Ninty cringed- that one had hurt.

"I _applaud_ you, and _respect_ you for that attempt…but Ninty, it simply wasn't enough. Words are indeed powerful, but unfortunately, the _will_ of a person is stronger…those people you preached to have been stuck in a constant roulette of abiding by what rules were shoved at them-_ this_ is good, _this _is bad. They live in a state of mind that is, at its core, merely relative, and_ not_ fact. Society consistently pushed for mass conformity…They don't realize it, but they _never_ had the ability to truly think for themselves…all we're trying to do is give everyone that ability _back_."

Steelo flashed his perfect smile, though Ninty was beginning to see it as something far more crooked.

"And the best part is, once we succeed, they _will_ know that _we _were truly living life the way it was meant to be lived, and that they missed out on something glorious…and also by the time they finally come to realize that…"

He gave his cane another twirl for emphasis.

"…it will be too late."

Steelo hummed contently to himself while Ninty tried to prevent his eyes from bugging out, but before he could speak against Steelo's spiel –he couldn't even if had wanted to- Penelope and Darcy showed up, both of them scowling at each other but as a matter of fact looking ready for a dance. They both stopped bickering once they got a load of Ninty though-

"_Not_ a _word_," Ninty demanded, but that didn't stop the girls from snickering. Steelo slunk up and gave an approving nod.

"Excellent ensembles, ladies. Far more impressive than our couture challenged friend here."

"I said shut up!" snapped Ninty to more laughter. Darcy then folded her arms and tapped her foot.

"Can we go now? I'm getting the jitters from actually sneaking out…"

"Patience, Darcy," Steelo requested. "We're still waiting for-"

The loud roar of the Ryker Cycle could be heard in the distance.

"…him."

As soon as Ryker had pulled up in front of them and took his helmet off, everyone shook their heads in disapproval.

"…you are not SERIOUSLY going in your Battle Suit, are you?" complained Penelope, as she fiddled in her emergency food pouch for a candy bar. Ryker raised an eyebrow.

"Problem?"

"They're totally going to know you're from Villain Prep, stupid!" cried Darcy. "We're supposed to be undercover!"

"Besides, Holle's off somewhere getting all nice for you, and you show up looking like you always do," pointed out Steelo. "_No_ tact, and _certainly _no class."

…Ryker grunted something under his breath before pressing a button on his shoulder. The group watched with varied degrees of amazement as his Battle Suit was deactivated, revealing a relatively sharp suit underneath. Darcy admittedly made a wolf call.

"Where'd you manage to find _that_?" scoffed Ninty. "I highly doubt the Space Pirates leave formal wear lying around."

"Don't ask questions!" Ryker snapped. "Let's just get a move on. I want to make this night…_killer_, so to speak."

Ninty looked sketchy at his wording while Steelo gestured ahead.

"Then far be it from me to keep us," he announced, already striding forward." Besides, it's always good to be…fashionably late."

"Too bad Ninty missed the "fashionably" memo-"

"Shut up, Penelope!"

As the group proceeded to make tracks, even Steelo was completely unaware that they were being watched…

"Well, well, _well_," Dark Pit remarked, leaning with his arms folded against a tree and hidden completely by the shadows. "This…is an _interesting_ turn of events."

**Gymnasium-**

"All right, everyone! Let's make this _happen_!" Link screamed at the top of his lungs, holding a clipboard as he directed the group of people in front of him. "Let's put the finishing touches on this shindig!"

"YEAH!" was the unanimous cry, except for Shadow who merely folded his arms. Link then coughed and pointed to the corner.

"Knuckles, carry those large and heavy boxes out of the way!"

"Can do!" Knuckles chirped contently, stacking four boxes in each arm and hefting them out of the way with little struggle. Link then pointed upwards and snapped his fingers.

"Decorators, move out!"

"Wheeeeeeee!" wailed Kirby, zipping around the ceiling on his Warp Star, tossing long ribbons around so that they would hang down from the ceiling. Meta Knight then flew up with his sword extending, yelling loudly as he rapidly and violently hacked at the delicate pieces of paper.

"Know my poweeeeeer!" he wailed, flipping forward and landing on the floor in a cool pose once he was finished. Seconds later, the ribbons properly started to hang down with intricate designs cut into them. Part of the group applauded at the display, just as Lucas used his psychic abilities to snap his fingers and cause a few huge banners to drape down as well.

"Perfect!" he cheered, pumping his fists. He then watched as Ness darted about, psychically launching streamers upwards in an impressive pattern. Lucas was wondering where he was going with that, until Sonic swung onto the scene with his Enerbeam and grabbed the end of the streamers.

"Woo hoo! Feeling good!" the hedgehog boomed, swinging all over the gym and draping the ceiling with the streamers. He swung around for a while longer until he called back the Enerbeam's power, flipping and landing at the DJ's station where he threw on his headphones and gave a quick twirl of a record.

"Yeah, now we're talking…!"

Queen Zelda shook her head. "Such a show off…but at least he rekindled with Amy."

"You're telling me!" exclaimed Amy, hammering large fancy fake pillars for decorations into place as Falco set them down. "But man, we are making GREAT time!"

Link agreed and gestured to the next committee. "Okay, let's roll out the food!"

"Coming right up!" Kawasaki cried, stumbling in with a cart full of snacks. Fox met him at the table and started stylishly sliding the plates down the table, beaming at Krystal who'd shown up earlier with Starly. She smirked at her husband as she finished putting up Adeleine's photo booth, while Starly posted the sign that said "Dance Here!" at the gym's entrance.

"Ooh, this is going to be so cool!" shrieked Starly, adjusting her pink bow after knocking it out of place with the excitement. Krystal nodded as she slunk over to Fox.

"I just hope someone saves a dance for me…!"

Falco looked rather coy as Fox assured Krystal that she would get her dance.

Link, meanwhile, twirled around and held his clipboard above his head. "Almost there! Last minute touches…go!"

Malon giddily took out her flute and started to play a bright and vibrant song, which just so happened to cue to disco ball to drop down from above. Palutena stood directly below it and summon a large blue beam of light upwards, striking the disco ball and causing it to reflect a ton of light. Samus, meanwhile, skid to a strange-looking machine at the back of the gym and slammed her fist down on the button.

"BONZAI!" she wailed, just as a dozen colors darted across the room in sweeping beams, with nearly everyone cheering.

"Cue karaoke machiiiiiine!" cried Link, with Pit jumping onto the small side stage and grabbing the microphone.

"Again today I will go soaring through the skyyyyyyyy-!"

"Balloons!"

"Fweeeeee!" chirped Starfy, being carried around by a huge group of balloons. "…fweh?"

"Kill the lights!"

Ethan let out a whoop as he skated over to the switch, shutting it off.

"Initiate back up power!"

Pikachu jumped off of Red's shoulder as struck a pose as the Pokémon Trainer gestured to the backup generator they'd –Tails- built to conserve power.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt, let's go!"

"Pika…PIka…Cha-PI!"

A huge bolt of lightning crashed down on the generator, charging it to max and lighting the room in black lights. The crowd whooped at how awesome it all generally looked, while Link pointed at Moe.

"Go, security!"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya…" murmured Moe, dragging himself to the entrance. Link then gave himself a drum roll as he pointed to the last person with a task.

"And for the very last absolute grand finale…take it away, Shadooooooooow-!"

Shadow blew a raspberry and anticlimactically threw open the gym door.

"…this party is UNDERWAY!"

"All right!" shrieked Kirby, and the adults all burst out in excited laughter.

"This party is going to be PSI Rockin'!" Ness cheered, slapping a high five with Lucas.

"Way past cool for sure!" agreed Sonic as he fist bumped Amy.

"We are so awesome!" screamed Pit, pulling Fox and Red into a bro hug. Palutena, Krystal, and Samus only chucked and shook their heads. Malon, meanwhile, noticed something odd.

"Hey, wait…where'd Tails go? I know Mario and Adeleine are busy with something and Peach and Luigi joined them, but-"

"I believe he mentioned checking up on something," Meta Knight interjected. "But he did not disclose what it was, exactly. I'm sure he's just checking on the fuse box that was disrupted today and requires none of our concern."

Malon looked a little skeptical. "I hope you're right, Mettie-"

"I told you people not to call me that."

**Hero High, Principal's Office-**

"Princess, _please_ take it easy-"

"I _can't_," Peach murmured through gritted teeth in response to Adeleine, pacing in place so rapidly that she was nearly wearing a rut in the floor. Adeleine clasped her hands together and frowned.

"I'm _begging _you, you've been worked up all day and it's not good! You must at least sit down…!"

Mario was still at his desk with an empty look, while Luigi was sitting in a chair with his eyes shifting around cautiously.

"I-I checked every inch of the school myself…there was no sign of them, except the busted lights by the cafeteria, which must've been caused by Lilia."

"I'm not worried about her- it's the other one," Peach murmured, grabbing her forehead. "…but really, how hard is it for two mercenaries to track down two little girls?!"

"I…still don't understand what threat they pose," Adeleine pointed out. "They ARE just little girls; what's the problem?"

She noticed Mario blanch as Peach turned around with a little too much somber. She marched over to Adeleine's desk and used all her will power not to explode.

"The threat? THE THREAT?! I'll TELL you what the THREAT is-!"

There was a rapt knock on the door, instantly bringing Peach down from her spiel but forcing a crazy expression onto her face. Adeleine tried to pull herself together too as she called, "Come in!"

Tails marched in, Miles Electric in hand, looking a mix of perplexed and incredibly suspicious. Luigi sunk in his seat while Mario raised an eyebrow.

"Tails," Peach said wearily, lightly brushing her stray bangs out of her face. "Aren't you supposed to be finishing up in the gym with the others-?"

He shoved the Miles Electric almost in her face, showing radar readings of the day's activities for a certain object.

"…the Master Charm was in the building today," Tails stated sternly. "And now, it's suddenly gone again."

Peach looked like she was going to be sick.

"Wh-what do you MEAN it's gone again?! Where did it go?!"

"How am_ I_ supposed to know? I was only able to pick up the signal when it was in the building, and it vanished shortly after school ended!" Tails cried. "Just saying, only you and Mario know where it is, so I just thought it was weird that it was suddenly HERE today…"

Mario went wide eyed and Peach balled her fists. Tails put his hands on his hips and frowned.

"Not only that, but I brought this up to Luigi, and he acted like he had no idea about it!"

"Because I don't know where it is, either! You know that-"

"Then why have you been acting so shifty ever since that incident with the security cameras?" Tails demanded, whirling on Luigi. "I've checked them myself, and there _was_ some weird girl here, wasn't there? Does SHE have anything to do with this and how crazy you've been all acting?"

Adeleine winced and pulled down her beret as Peach stepped forward.

"Tails, you know that you are one of our most valuable members of this school's faculty, and we greatly appreciate all that you've done for us," she explained slowly. "…but there are even some things that you are not allowed to know, I'm afraid."

"What are you talking about?" Tails demanded again, narrowing his eyes. "Something's going on around here, and by the looks of it no one else knows about it-?"

"Why are you so concerned, Tails?" Luigi asked, but that was the wrong thing to question.

"Because, Luigi, if there's anything even remotely sketchy or suspicious going on in this school then why doesn't everyone have a right to know, considering the potential threats upon them?!" barked Tails. "Not to mention half of the Origin Point's core is under this school, and we just talked this morning about keeping it safe, and suddenly this..._back room discussion_ is going on and-"

"Tails, you're thinking too deeply into this-"

"I am not!" Tails snapped back to Luigi. "In fact, I don't think I'm thinking hard _enough_! Luigi, you're my team leader! I'm your second in command! How can you keep _me_ at the _very_ least in the dark about anything?!"

Luigi looked incredibly hurt at the accusation while Mario pulled his hat over his eyes as sunk lower in his seat. Tails remained firm in his stance, questioning anyone who was willing to answer.

"…will _someone_ tell me what's going on?!"

Even Adeleine was looking horrendously nervous, but Peach remained firm in her stance as well, locking her blue eyes with Tails'.

"…you have my deepest apologizes, Tails, but the issue at hand is of the utmost secrecy for the protection of all, I absolutely assure you. I understand this is hard to accept, but-"

"Whatever," Tails huffed, making tracks for the door. "Should've known this was a waste of time…"

"Tails, it's not like that-!" Luigi stammered, but Tails spun around and glowered at them all.

"Look, I don't mind if you're keeping a secret. Fine, whatever. But we've learned plenty of times in the past that harboring important information doesn't help anyone, and we don't need to go that that road again." He took a deep breath and sighed. "So fine. Have your secret. I won't go blabbing to anyone else about what you have or haven't been doing, because I don't even know myself."

He clenched the Miles Electric tighter in his hand.

"But if I find out that there's something big going on, or the Master Charm inexplicably ends up in this building where it doesn't belong…there will be chaos."

"Would you really put the whole school- nay, everything at risk because of this?" Luigi asked. Tails grabbed the handle of the door and gave the group a questioning look.

"Clearly _you_ all would."

He shut it relatively harshly behind him, with Peach letting out a scream that was quickly muffled by Adeleine's offered beret in lieu of a pillow. Mario looked like he was going to fall to pieces while Luigi repeatedly banged his head against the wall.

"Of _course_ he'd have a tracker in it…of _course_ he'd connect the dots…!" Peach trailed deliriously. "This wouldn't have happened if Malachi and Tamsyn had taken care of things swiftly like I asked!"

Adeleine just looked at Peach with shock. "Was…Tails onto something-?"

"Adeleine, you know more than enough already. Don't pry more than necessary-"

"Peach, you're not yourself anymore!" Adeleine cried. "I don't understand why you're doing this…"

There was another knock at the door, with Peach opening it like a madwoman.

"Go _away_, Tails-!"

It was Mal and Tamsyn, with Tamsyn in a stunning dress and Mal scratching his neck in a suit. Peach narrowed her eyes.

"Speak of the devils," she scoffed, dragging them into the office. "…why haven't you completed you mission, yet?! I specified BEFORE the dance-!"

"We know, but they're extremely crafty," Tamsyn defended. "They were always one step ahead-!"

"Well now Tails is getting suspicious, and we're _this_ close to catastrophe," Peach huffed. "It was imperative that those two were kept secret, and now that's on the verge of being thrown out the window…!"

"Who ARE they, anyway?" Mal asked. "And just how do they threaten the school for you to want them out so badly?"

Peach took a deep break and tried to calm herself.

"Mal, Tamsyn…as far as anyone of those people at the dance tonight are concerned, those little girls do _not _exist, understand? Finding too much about them puts far too much at risk-"

"But _why_?" pressed Tamsyn, only for Mario to rapidly shake his head as Peach blew a gasket.

"Just _trust_ me! Just don't ask questions, and just _trust_ me!" she wailed, a high-pitched, shrill shriek that sent even Mario cowering. "I want those two brought to me before they ruin everything, understand? That. Is. All. I'm. Asking! Is that so hard?!"

Mal and Tamsyn just gaped and traded looks, but eventually nodded and decided it was best to comply with demands.

"…yes Princess. Right away."

They scrambled out of the door at a blistering speed, Peach still breathing heavily until she was sure they were gone. Then, when the adrenaline kicked down, she hurriedly covered her mouth and suddenly broke down to the floor crying again.

"I…I'm becoming a monster!" she sobbed, Adeleine and Mario instantly springing up to comfort her. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up! It's too hard-!"

"Then tell the truth," Adeleine said softly, but Peach violently shook her head.

"I can't- I really, really can't!" she blubbered. "I've tried so hard to keep the universe safe, but in one single moment that could all be unraveled! But I can't go on like this, and she's making everything so hard…!"

Peach eventually picked herself back up and swept into the back room, needing some very much required alone time. Adeleine turned to Super Mario Bros., hoping one of them would even shed just the slightest of light on what in the worlds would drive Peach into such a state, but Luigi just turned away…and Mario seemed just as tore up about it as Peach.

. . .

Outside the door, Lilia couldn't help but overhear the display once Mal and Tamsyn had cleared out, and she nearly started crying herself.

"Secrets after secrets pile up, one to protect another, and so on, and so forth, only meaning well in the end…"

She wiped her eyes dry with her green sleeve and bolted down the hall, hoping that everyone's efforts to do what they thought was right wouldn't end up coming back to bite them.

"…but no matter how well our intentions may be, the fact of the matter is that...at the end of the day, secrets really do divide us."

* * *

><p><strong>...my goodness, I literally included every significant character except the adult villains in this chapter! They'll be back soon enough though. <strong>

**In the meantime, hypehypehypehypehypehypehype...! **


	11. When Everybody's Starry-Eyed

Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us

Part 11: When Everybody's Starry Eyed

Tails was a terrible mess as he plodded down the hallway, fists clenching and unclenching as he stewed in his frustration over what Mario and company were hiding. What could've been so important to keep the entire school in the dark? Hadn't they learned that hiding things from people never worked out in the end?

"Hey- Tails!"

Tails halted and glanced over his shoulder, noticing Adeleine running up to him. She stopped just before him to bend over and put her hands on her knees, catching her breath. Tails simply lowered his eyes.

"Come to reveal the truth?" he asked, and Adeleine shook her head.

"No, I only know a bit more than you do…I'm not aware as to why they're all acting that way, but I'm under oath not to say anything…I'm really sorry; I want them to tell the truth too."

She panted again and nearly sank where she stood; Tails eased up a little and stood her straight.

"So, why'd you leave the office?"

Adeleine promptly beamed and held up a camera. "I'm the photographer, remember?"

Tails nodded, until his eyes widened and smacked his forehead. "Ah, oh no…! I was supposed to finish help setting up for the dance, but I got caught up with the Miles Electric! Let's go, Adeleine!"

"O-Okay!" Adeleine stammered, taking another breath as she started running again. The duo tore down the hall, wondering if they'd missed anything important, but once Tails burst through the doorway of the gym…he was not expecting everyone to erupt into excited cheers.

"All right! The first guest has arrived!" whooped Kirby, followed by more hollers. Adeleine stepped in and nervously adjusted her beret.

"Ah, um…it's just us…"

Upon seeing that it really was just Tails and Adeleine, the group sighed, with Sonic performing a record scratch. Zelda eventually stepped forward and glanced at Adeleine.

"Say, won't Peach be joining us? I feel like I haven't really seen her much today…"

"Yeah Addie, what's she doing?" asked Amy as she slung her hammer over her shoulder.

"She's…very preoccupied with things," Adeleine explained. "But she said to continue the dance without her and the Mario Bros.! There's…an issue they're looking into."

Tails scoffed and blew his bangs out of his face before noticing Malon and Meta Knight approaching him.

"Luigi's not joining us either?" Malon questioned, folding her arms. "That's odd- he was really pumped up for this."

"…I suppose some things took a higher priority," Tails murmured. Malon just frowned and glanced away silently while Meta Knight's eyes turned a puzzled green.

"…preoccupied or not, I find it particularly strange that he failed to inform us about this beforehand."

Tails was going to make another remark until Knuckles suddenly strolled onto the scene, beaming and slinging his arms around Tails and Malon.

"Well hey, don't let Thunder's lack of appearance get us all down!" he insisted. "At the very least, we've earned a little relaxation for our hard work. We can mull around tomorrow if we want!"

Tails blinked, still a bit stung by what had happened, but eventually he nodded and forced a smile. "…yeah, you're right Knuckles. Feeling bad's not going to do much for us after all. I'm actually looking forward to having some chocolate myself…!"

Knuckles laughed and hit Tails on the back, nearly sending him flying into Meta Knight. Gathering his bearings, Tails raced off to the snack table instantly, with Knuckles and Meta Knight following to ensure that he wouldn't eat _too_ much chocolate. Malon, meanwhile, stuck back for a second, folding her arms behind her as she glanced out the gym's door. Shaking her head, she eventually followed her friends, not saying a word.

. . .

Sooner rather than later, the students of Hero High finally arrived, the two groups having met each other on the way in, and each being astonished with how well they all had managed to "clean up". Anyone who happened to be in a pair started matching up, with any loners lingering off to the sides and nervously adjusting their clothing. The only exception to this was Rina, who had stopped at the entrance to the school and stared at it fretfully. Damien noticed she wasn't with him anymore and went back to get her.

"Hey, what's wrong? Not backing out now, are you?" he asked. Rina shook her head behind her fan, shuddering.

"Nah, I guess it's just nerves. Could potentially be busted, universe is at stake, my first big social event _ever_ and I don't even belong at it…you know,_ whatever_."

Damien smiled a bit and took her free hand, gently guiding her in. "Well, relax. The adults are expecting kids from other schools to show up, and you could easily pass that way. Plus, anyone who's seen you won't recognize you with that dress!"

Rina blinked and eventually glanced down, staring at the elegant sky blue dress Luke's mother had so generously lent to her. It was simple yet sophisticated, with slightly poufy short sleeves, and with a light scarf draping over her arms, she was pretty much a different person. Her ponytail tie was replaced with a small silver tiara hairclip, and a silver glitter mask now rested on her face.

"I…really hope you're right, Damien."

Damien grabbed her hand again, only to accidentally grab at the bracelet that had been on her wrist and unintentionally knocked it off. Flustered with embarrassment, Damien instantly picked it up and returned it to her.

"Ah, uh, sorry about that…I guess I'm a tad nervous too."

"No worries- it's just some lame charm bracelet I was given," Rina explained bluntly, slipping it back on her wrist with a snap. "I decided to wear it tonight because I thought it complimented my outfit. It's pretty tacky otherwise."

Sure enough, the bracelet's main feature was the large silver eight-pointed star ornament, with various places around it to put charms. However, there were no charms, but Rina didn't seem too disturbed by it as she carried on.

"Anyway, let's go! Time is burning away!"

Rina hurried to where the other students went entering the gym, with Damien shaking his head lightly and following after her.

At the doorway, Adeleine was at the ready with her camera, snapping photos of everyone as they filed in after being checked by Moe. Several parents were lined up around them, gushing at how "adorable" or "grownup" their kids looked. Naturally, the first pair in was Angelina and Starlos, the two of them treating it like they were arriving at a movie premiere and posing for the paparazzi. Starlos, sporting a blue fedora, blue mask, and cufflinks on his arms, eventually hid his face as his mother Starly started screaming like a fan girl. Angelina, dressed in a lavender robe, donning a sequined purple mask, and wearing ankle-high sandals, simply waved back at everyone while giving a thumbs up to Pit. Her hair had been straightened for the occasion, made all the better by the sparkle spray that she'd put in it.

Next to enter was Coby, clearly overdressed with a top hat, monocle, small walking cane, a fake mustache, and every other piece of fancy clothing he could squeeze onto his small body. Meta Knight put an embarrassed palm to his forehead as Kirby used him for support and wiped a tear away.

"I taught him everything he knows…!"

Following him was Princess Zelda, who was finally living up to her title. Angelina had insisted she wear her royal tiara, just for tonight, so the golden hair ornament with the pink jewel was sitting nested on her head. She shrugged to drag her official royal dress across the floor –she insisted that it was too big and too long- but otherwise she looked fine.

"Hey, no pictures! I look like a dork!" Zelda scowled at Adeleine. Her hair was pulled into a similar semi-braided hairstyle like her mother's and she hated it, let alone wanted photographic evidence of its existence.

"You look beautiful, sweetie!" cried her mother with a wave.

"Just like a princess!" added Link. Zelda rolled her eyes as she adjusted her golden mask.

"Yeah, cuz I really want to hear that…"

Next…was surprisingly Mal and Tamsyn, appearing unexpectedly. Mal was outfitted in a particularly standard tuxedo, while Tamsyn was garbed in a rather form-fitting lime green gown. She held her mask on a stick, while Mal's white one nearly took up the top half his face.

"Ah, I can see it now, me and some lucky girl bringing it on the dance floor-!" Mal exclaimed to the distain of Tamsyn.

"Keep your priorities in check! Remember what we're here for…because if we fail, who knows what Peach will do to us!"

Mal notably gulped, checking to make sure he still had his revolver and knifes on him just in case.

Skippy and Alph entered next, with Skippy wearing an orange suit with a red bowtie, while Alph had on black pants, black formal coat, and a cerulean vest underneath. The two looked really excited to be there, unlike Tenn who was pouting up behind them. Her sleeveless yellow gown was still poufy, but not nearly to the extent it had been earlier. Silver jewelry decorated her wrists and neck, along with a silver headband helping to keep her wild pinned-up hair in check, but all that combined with the mask and makeup, she was nearly unrecognizable.

"Stop looking at me," she mumbled indignantly, struggling to walk in her silver heels. "I'm so out of my comfort zone…!"

"You'll be _fine_," assured Ness, secretly pleased that he was allowed to wear his cap even though he was in a tux himself.

"Heeeeey, the party has arrived!" announced Marcus, strolling in with a white hat, white mask, and white suit to contrast against his blue fur. He sashayed in confidently, posing happily for the camera, while Lulu trudged in behind him with short manila boots, manila mask, and a short red party dress. Her ears were pulled back into a peculiar yet manageable ponytail-style, and she shrugged meekly as she followed Marcus in.

Junichi's eyes were brown with nervousness at seeing all those people staring him down with his small mask, dress shoes, and black dress shirt with a purple tie, so Elysia offered him his hand and let him walk in with her. His nerves calmed down in an instant, and made sure to politely let his friend know that she looked stunning for the night.

"Ah ha, thanks Juni," Elysia beamed, her clip on earrings brushing against her neck as she did. Her dress was long and dark green, with two medium-sized slits at the sides just to allow her to walk better. Like Tenn, she was decorated like a Christmas tree with silver jewelry and a silver mask, but for once her jet black hair was down, splayed over one shoulder and partially parted by a moon-shaped hairclip.

"Aw, Junichi looks like a little man!" gushed Amy, shaking Sonic. "This is one for the scrapbook…!"

"E-easy! Whatever you say…"

Samus, meanwhile, was surprised that her own daughter had fixed herself up so nicely. "I…wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it…"

"You really do have a beautiful daughter," comment Krystal, smirking slightly as Marcus started photo bombing the pictures. Samus eventually nodded slowly.

"I suppose I do…"

Eventually Purple strolled in, a purple fedora with a feather sticking out sitting atop his messy hair. A purple mask covered the left half of his face, hands shoved in the pockets of his purple dress pants that still had his chains pouring out. His belt was still studded, and even his tie was purple and black checkerboard, but the nice jacket and black dress vest he was wearing made up enough for him to look presentable.

"Oooh, here's come MY vote for the dance's king and queen!" announced Coby, with Alph looking confused.

"Uh, we weren't voting for a king and queen…"

"…then what happened to all the votes I cast?!"

As Alph looked on in confusion, Luke cautiously stepped into the spotlight, carefully guiding Pink in. He had a light blue and white multi-piece suit decked out to the max, along with a blue and white top hat and light blue mask. Still, even with his fancy and plenty sophisticated threads, he paled in comparison to Pink. She had a pink gown that looked ripped straight from a fairy tale, layered with silk and lace and had a classy pink bow tied around the waist. Like Tenn's gown, it was sleeveless, and she too had silver jewelry, only decorated with pink gems here and there. Her hair was also down, and even though her pink-dyed streak stood out more than ever now, it blended perfectly with the tiny pink tiara she was wearing. She curtseyed slightly as she entered, earning cheers from her peers and a love-struck stare from Purple. Luckily Starlos was there to close his jaw.

"Here goes nothing…" Rina sighed, nervously latching to Damien's arm and praying that no one would recognize her. Damien remained stoic as he marched in, simply wondering how everyone would react…

As he entered with his dark blue regal suit, and _still_ his cape, he noticed everyone's eyes fall instantly onto Rina, so he quickly held up a hand to quell the suspicions.

"She's my friend from a different school," he announced. "I…hope that's all right. Please don't crowd her too much though- she's painfully shy."

Rina made a face and pinched his arm slightly.

"Of course it's okay- everyone's welcome at this party!" cheered Link. "My man, netting himself a girl already…!"

Rina blushed behind her fan while Damien shook a fist. "It's not LIKE that, Dad! Why does everyone keep insinuating that?"

"…wait…" Zelda trailed, trotting up to the duo and looking Rina in the eye. "Don't tell me…is SHE the girl-?"

"Yes," Damien said quickly, giving Zelda look that dared her to say anymore. Zelda blinked in retaliation before breaking out into a dangerous grin.

"Ha HA! I knew it! I knew you'd ask her to the dance!"

"She asked ME!" Damien cried, Rina stifling laughter behind her fan as Zelda pranced around.

"Someone's got a cruuuush! Someone's got a cruuuush!"

"Zelda, she's younger than you are," Damien deadpanned, but Zelda shrugged indifferently.

"Hey, I didn't say you had to date her or anything…I'm just saying you've got a cruuuuuuush!"

"Real mature, Zelda," Damien huffed, escorting Rina to the main dance floor while he still had some dignity left. However, there wasn't really anything to join in on, as boys and girls alike had drifted to the sides of the room, as was expected for any start of a dance. Sonic was playing the best tune he could to get everyone pumped, with Ness and Pit embarrassing themselves with ridiculous dance moves. Even Pink had to put her head in her hands when Ethan started doing the disco beneath the disco ball.

"Aw, they're all nervous!" Adeleine exclaimed.

"Sometimes it's not easy to get the party started," Krystal shrugged. "It's just beginning- give it time!"

Mal clapped his hands together and start making his way over to the girl group. "Well, I think_ I_ know how to get these people pumped…!"

"More like a way to get them running out the door," muttered Tamsyn, scanning the crowd for anything out of place. As Damien had pointed out, Rina wasn't as recognizable in her evening wear, so Tamsyn had glanced over her, but there was absolutely _no_ sign of Lilia, who Tamsyn was especially looking forward to getting back at. Regardless, Mal had made his way over to the girls and adjusted his mask. Tenn rolled her eyes.

"Not this guy again…"

"We meet again, ladies, and I must say your beauty is even more unparalleled than the last time," Mal announced, taking a bow. "It's as if someone had taken the stars from this lovely night and sprinkled them down upon you, highlighting your luminance!"

Lulu shook her head. "I have to admit, your angel pick-up line was a lot better."

"And sorry, but I'm already taken for the night," Angelina declared with hands on her hips. "…though perhaps I _could_ squeeze in a small dance later-"

"Even your minute consideration alone fills my heart with joy," Mal stated, sliding over to Elysia next. "…hmm, you appear to be single tonight. Might you care for ravishing venture to the dance floor with me?"

Elysia opened her mouth for a reply, but before any words could get out, Mal suddenly went rigid and let out a loud cry, as Tamsyn had zapped him in the side with her Stun Baton.

"…I am so sorry," Tamsyn murmured as Mal sank to the floor. "He's going into overload with so many females in the vicinity. I'll keep him at bay for as long as I can."

"It's…okay," Elysia laughed nervously. "I'm just sure he wants to kick things off like the rest of us…!"

Tamsyn shook her head to demonstrate that _wasn't_ the case, proceeding to drag Mal away by his ear. The girls watched with blank stares as he protested profusely, and once again found themselves with a dead end as to how to get the dance going. Seeing as she wasn't missing anything, Rina inched over to Damien and nudged him.

"…hey, I'm going to go see if I can find Lilia," she whispered quietly. "I'll tell her what's been going on and maybe be able to catch if anyone suspicious drifts by…and that way, I won't be under the direct watch of Tamsyn and Mal."

Damien blinked and glanced at her. "Won't…people ask if they notice you're gone for too long?"

"Tell 'em I'm in the bathroom- works every time," Rina winked, starting to glide away. Damien slightly held out his hand to ask her to reconsider, but the issue of Lilia was still at hand…and perhaps it'd be better if Rina came back at a time when the crowd was bigger.

Shortly after she'd slipped out of the gym, Mario had entered, with the adults celebrating at the arrival of someone new, only to sulk when it was only Mario. Mario stared at them curiously as Link and Kirby bounded over to him.

"Heya, Mario! Almost thought you weren't going to show up!" exclaimed Kirby. Mario nervously twiddled his thumbs- he almost hadn't, but seeing as he _was_ the principal, he didn't really want to miss the school event. Peach and Luigi refused to come with him; Luigi because he was a nervous wreck, and Peach because she wanted to pull herself together after her brief breakdown. Shaking it off, he asked Link how the dance was currently faring.

"Well, the kids are being wallflowers at the moment, so the Alliance is dancing to try and raise their spirits," Link explained as he jabbed a thumb at the neon dance floor. "We can totally do better than that…!"

"Yeah," scoffed Kirby, leaning onto Mario's head. "But who knew that they all could dance?!"

Everyone was currently watching Sonic furiously scratch the records, pumping out a catchy dance beat, trying to catch the Alliance off guard in their attempts at dancing. However, the group was more than prepared for Sonic, matching his changes in tempo almost perfectly. He completely cut off the music, started up a new song and pumped his fist to beat. Red simply waved his hands over his head, clearing the floor and cuing the patrons to start clapping with the beat. He then adjusted his cap before starting to move, working slowly to begin with but getting faster and faster as the song progressed, sweeping his arms in all directions and moving his feet so that they were almost a blur. Everyone was astonished that Red could even move in such a way, but that didn't stop the cheers from erupting.

Even Pikachu was getting in on it, hopping around with a cute little dance that earned him some adorable points. He contrasted with Red's more sophisticated moves, but they still worked in perfect unison.

"Pikaaa!" he chirped gleefully, bouncing from one hind foot to the other. However, they were abruptly cut off with a record scratch, Sonic having folded his arms at the turn tables and shaking his head.

"That does it," he huffed, hurdling over the table and striding toward the dance floor. "Knuckles, give us a beat! Guys, get out here!"

Mario, Link, and Kirby instantly knew he was talking about them and approached immediately, with Sonic groaning and darting out to go drag Samus in too. She fidgeted in his grip, not looking the least bit pleased about this.

"Oh, do I _have _to…?"

"Yes," Sonic affirmed, the two of them strolling up in sync with Mario, Link, and Kirby. They matched up to the Alliance, with Sonic stepping forward and pointing declaratively at them. "...we challenge you…to a dance battle!"

"Oh snaaaaaaaaap!" yelled Knuckles and Ethan, with Amy, Queen Zelda, Starly, Adeleine, Palutena, and Krystal whistling in the back.

"...I don't know whether to think this is cool or die from the embarrassment," remarked Coby.

The kids and remaining adults watched intently at the impending battle between Team Mario and the Alliance, wondering who'd be victorious and able to boast about superior skill. The two sides readied themselves, with Knuckles flipping the record and setting the stage.

"Show 'em who's boss, Starf!" Moe called instantly from the doorway, with Starly waving her arms.

"Go, Bro, go! Teach them how's it's done!"

Starfy's kickoff mainly just consisted of him spinning aloofly across the dance floor, changing direction anytime Knuckles scratched the record. As the song played on, he threw another few moves in there; doing the wave, performing cartwheels, and going for style by wrapping it all up with the splits. The crowd slightly whistled, but Kirby simply strolled out with his hands up.

"Please- I got this," he declared, instantly shuffling in a way only he could. Meta Knight covered his eyes while Coby gripped him for support, but there really was nothing to worry about. Kirby managed to top Starfy's spins with his own natural twirling ability, really bringing it home when he flipped on his head and started spiraling about upside down. This earned some cheers from Coby while Meta Knight still refused to look. Kirby then finished off his flips and turns with his classic victory dance, taking a bow and cartwheeling away. The crowd burst into light applause as Falco folded his arms and smirked.

"Eh, betcha can't beat that, Star Fox!"

"You wanna bet?" Fox teased as Krystal giggled in return, before stepping to the middle of the floor and holding up his hands. Knuckles twirled the record all the way around, Fox bringing his arms around over his head with the sound before taking a sharp step forward and breaking out into a flurry of moves. It was like he danced as a secret hobby, making quick yet precise movements to the beat like it was choreographed. Marcus was actually cheering for his dad…until Fox suddenly dropped to the floor and performed the worm. Instantly Marcus put his arm down and tried to pretend like he was fixing his fur.

"….ah I can't believe that just happened…"

Lulu and Skippy laughed to themselves as Fox retreated back to the sidelines. Knuckles just broke out into a smirk as Link and Sonic pushed Samus out into the middle, with her looking absolutely out of sorts while the crowd cheered her on. Flustered, she balled her fists and sneered at the group.

"I am _not_ doing this-"

"Come on, Sam! We gotta win!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Pleeeeease, for me at least?" begged Kirby, giving her his best sad eyes. Samus quivered slightly but remained firm in her stance.

"I knew you were bad at stylish moves, Samus, but I didn't know your dance moves were just the same-!" Link started to tease, but suddenly Samus grunted and pointed accusingly at them.

"Th-that's not true! Fine…if it'll shut Link up…"

Link and Sonic smirked and exchanged a high five. Elysia grabbed Angelina for support.

"Oh my goodness my mom is going to dance…"

"Horrifying, isn't it?" remarked Marcus, still trying to get over his father's outdated moves.

However, Samus wasn't much better. She suddenly went rigid, and completely out of nowhere started doing a very believable robot. The crowd whooped in reprieve at the unexpectedly good execution, especially coming from Samus. Elysia shielded her eyes as it happened, with Samus refusing to move TOO much but still managed to match the beat with what little she did. She ended off her turn with a firm stomp and a pose strike, followed by her instantly storming off the floor.

"Gads, that was embarrassing…"

"You were fine, Sam!" Sonic assured. "…_I'll _just be better!"

Samus knocked him over with a shove.

Meanwhile, Knuckles adjusted the song once more, raising his hand and letting the beat flow as Ness took his turn. The psychic briefly adjusted the brim of his hat as he slid onto the dance floor, throwing a peace sign at the crowd for appeal. Lucas admittedly rolled his eyes, but had to hand it to Ness for using his psychic abilities to enhance his dancing. The power sparking off his hands and feet reflected off the disco ball above, providing for a very dazzling show.

"Yeah, go Ness!" called Tenn, pumping her fist. "Almost makes me want to dance. Almost."

Ness stepped back modestly as Sonic stepped up, acting like he was totally born for this moment. Amy couldn't help but fall into a fan girl relapse while Junichi happily cheered him on. Knuckles knew just what to play, dipping into a catchy rock song with a beat Sonic could breakdance to. Almost instantly the hedgehog was on the floor, dazzling the crowd with his fast paced moves that lived up to his "Blue Blur" nickname. Windmills, cartwheels, head spirals…he pulled out every move in his arsenal, including standing upside down and spinning around on one hand. Ness folded his arms and scoffed as Sonic finished it off by landed on his side with his head propped up.

"Man, who thought it was a good idea to pit me against _Sonic_?" Ness mockingly complained. Sonic scooped himself up off the floor and slugged Ness in the shoulder.

"Take it as a compliment! It means you were a worthy opponent!

Red rolled his eyes as that as Pit glided up next, looking totally nervous despite being completely comfortable with wailing his voice in front of the crowd. However, with a little encouragement from Palutena, he was suddenly in it, using his maneuvering ability from battle to perform some pretty complex flips and twists, but it wasn't any less interesting. He gained a lot of appeal from the crowd, finishing it off by landing on one knee and spreading his arms to the sky.

"Well, I'm finished!" he whooped, before darting off the dance floor and taking to the side again. But the moment Link stepped up next with his arms spread out, the whole crowd _groaned._ Making a face, Link shook a fist.

"Hey! I haven't done anything yet!"

"You don't need to!" teased Malon, cuing a bit of chuckles. Link gave her a brief look before spiraling himself toward the crowd, reaching his hand out and snagging Queen Zelda's hand in his. Damien instantly blanched while Kid Zelda's eyes started bugging out.

"My parents…dancing…in front of those whole school…" moaned Damien. His sister shook her head shamefully and held up a hand.

"Well, that's it. I'm moving to Termina and buying a mask so no one will see my face _ever again_."

While the song was a bit fast paced, Link and Zelda managed to work it into a perfect opportunity for a tango, each matching the other's split second changes in steps almost to a T. Link twirled and dipped Zelda around and few times, while Zelda danced around him at the lulls in the song. They'd improved considerably since the day they were wed.

"No fair!" called Pit. "He had outside help!"

"No one said it was against the rules," laughed Link as Zelda spiraled gracefully back into the crowd. The area was empty for the next moment…until Red sashayed in with one hand in his pocket and his other hand gripping his hat.

"How do you expect to top your last performance?!" Ethan called from the crowd, rallying shouts of agreement. Red just shrugged and took his stance on the floor.

"Precisely the same way…and without saying a word."

Sonic in particular scoffed as Red started dancing again, this time intentionally working Pikachu into his routine. Pikachu would hop around all over Red as he switched arm positions, doing crazy flips and jumps in the air while doing so. Meanwhile, Red was pretty much dancing on one leg the whole time, maintained perfect balance as his other leg did all the fancy footwork. Shaking his head, Sonic nudged Mario and gestured to the dance floor.

"All right, Mario! Finish him!"

"Yeah! I mean, you went on that one dancing adventure, did you?" Kirby asked, and Mario seemed faint recalling it. Samus glanced at Kirby.

"I…don't think he likes to talk about it."

"He doesn't talk about anything!" Link reminded her, and Mario took that as his moment to move. Gripping his cap, he took to the stage, the crowd shrieking in excitement as he appeared. Red looked on as Mario directly challenged him, curious to see what he was going to do. Of course, Mario's natural acrobat skills helped out here immensely, allowing him far more range for fancy flips and kicks that instantly blew the crowd's mind. Red just hummed and kicked it up a notch with Pikachu. Pit returned to his side and started working in sync, while Link fell into step with Mario. Mario and Red lead the charge, their corresponding team members matching them move for move, and as it was, it was really hard to pick a winner.

To finish off, Red landed on one knee with Pikachu balancing on his head, Pit and Fox posing dramatically beside him, and Ness jumping into the air and sending Starfy skywards with his psychic abilities. The crowd applauded the display, only to grow louder when Samus and Link latched arms and twirled around, Sonic flipping forward and landing in a sitting position on their arms, followed by Kirby alighting on Sonic's head and twirling around like usual. What completed this was when Mario completely hurdled over all of them and managed to land the splits afterward.

And thus, the winner was pretty obvious.

"Ah, we gave it our best," Red told his team as Team Mario started cheering on their leader. "…the important thing is that we got the party started!"

They took notice that Skippy and Marcus had wasted no time getting into the groove, along with Angelina and Starlos. Alph was pretty into it too, even leading around his Pikmin for fun. It was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was something.

. . .

Just as things were starting to brew in the gym, Junior, Zeborah, Connor, Dash, Peri, Penji, and Holle tumbled nervously into Hero High, hearing the sounds of excited screams and music emerging from the gym. The lights even made their way down the hall, almost beckoning the group the gym.

"Last chance to back ooooout," sang Dash, only to be slugged in the shoulder by Holle.

"It looks like it's already in full swing," Connor noted.

"So…shouldn't we just be able to slip in?" Junior asked. They were suddenly interrupted by a loud obnoxious voice that seemed to overtake even the music.

"HEY, YOU KIDS!"

"They know…!" wailed Penji, prepared to make a beeline for the door. Peri snagged his sleeve and yanked him back as the others approached the voice, belonging to Moe. He was waiting rather impatiently, studying them closely as they approached.

"Hey…you're not Hero High students," Moe realized, raising an eyebrow. "I'm going to have to get the name of your school before you enter in case you end up causing trouble."

The seven of them froze.

"Ah-ah the name o-of our school…?" Peri stammered, hands flying to her mouth.

"T-trouble?!" Penji winced.

"Buuuusted," Dash said through strained teeth, prompting Junior to give him a shove. However, Connor calmly stepped forward as his eyes filled with a slightly devious glint.

"Ah, sorry for the delay. We really don't like telling people we're from Kibougamine Academy."

Holle's eyes widened as she glowered at him. "You did_ not_ just pick-!"

"Erm…what school is that?" Moe asked. Zeborah instantly jumped ahead and gave two thumbs up.

"Yeah, we're from good old 'Hope's Peak' Academy! We hate getting swarmed just because we're Super High School Level students, you know," she giggled. "After all, I am…uh…Super High School Level…Fire Dancer?"

"And I'm known for Ultimate Luck!" exclaimed Penji as Holle smacked her forehead. Moe seemed to ponder this for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah…I think I heard about that place once or twice. Pretty exclusive though…"

"Hence why we're very excited to be here!" Peri announced, deciding to go along as well.

"Can we just go in now?" whined Junior. Moe had no more complaints or reason to keep them back, so he stepped aside and let them through. Penji and Peri laughed and ran on ahead, with Zeborah leaning coyly in towards Connor.

"Nice thinking," she smirked, nudging his shoulder. Holle stuck out her tongue as she trudged next to them.

"Yeah, nice indeed. Way to pick a place where students have died in droves," murmured Holle. "You have no idea how many souls I had to judge from that place…way to set up a bad omen for us."

"It got us in, didn't it?" Connor asked, only to pause upon seeing what was going on at the dance floor. Only a few of the students were actually dancing, and almost as soon as they entered, Tenn had caught sight of them and suddenly motioned to the group around her. Peri instantly blanched while Dash shook his head.

"Well, so much for inconspicuous-"

"Stop, stop," huffed Junior. "As long as they don't know who we are, we're fine! We're fine…"

Next thing they knew, Tenn, Skippy, and Coby sprang up to them, Tenn even holding out her hand to offer a greeting.

"Well hi! We almost thought no one else was going to come!" she exclaimed. Not wanting to seem rude, Zeborah happily shook it.

"Ah, yeah…there may be others coming too, so look out for that."

"Well, you're more than welcome to jump in and dance!" Skippy exclaimed, gesturing to the dance floor. "It hasn't quite gotten started yet- we just need the right motivation!"

"There's even a huge buffet table!" Coby exaggerated to Penji, who genuinely laughed. "Everything you can even imagine…!"

Holle threw her head back and laughed, causing everyone to instantly give her a look. She just put her hands on her hips as she grinned broadly.

"Well, the reason the party hasn't gotten started yet is because the party just arrived…! Come on; let's kick things up a notch!"

"Now that's a girl with spirit!" exclaimed Coby, grabbing Penji's wrist and dragging him after her. "Let's go! I'm ready for some fun!"

"O-okay!"

"Hey, wait for us!" announced Peri, running incredibly slowly after them. Connor and Zeborah just exchanged a carefree shrug and hurried after them, with Skippy, Junior, and Dash taking up the back.

"I think you all are really going to like this party," Skippy told Dash. "It's just nice to relax and hang out with friends, you know?"

Dash couldn't help but nod. "Yeah, you're right…"

Junior just adjusted his mask, wondering of anyone was going to notice them. Sure, he was wearing a white suit and actual pants with shoes, but even still, he couldn't entirely hide his shell, and it wasn't like his red hair was a common thing…but everyone seemed to be too busy having fun to really pay attention to anything. Eventually the seven had merged right in with the other kids, Holle watching as Sonic returned to the DJ Station and put on the next tune.

"Now THIS is my song!" she cried, instantly head banging to the latest beat- that DIDN'T require head banging. She wasted no time skipping to the dance floor and making a spectacle of herself, eventually drawing in more Hero High students. Among them was Angelina, who pulled away from Starlos to talk to her. Holle shuddered for a brief moment, fearing that Angelina had recognized her, but she hadn't.

"Ooh! I JUST wanted to tell you that I LOVE your dress!" the angel gushed. Holle merely blinked.

"Uh…you do?"

"Oh, sure! The sliming black evening gown with silver sparkle trim does wonders for your figure, and compliments your half-up half-down hair style immensely well! And those _shoes_…! They look like they belong on a goddess!"

"Wow…thanks!" Holle found herself speaking honestly. "I like yours too. It really brings out your eyes."

Angelina squealed and twirled. "Ooh, I _know_! I did it to catch the attention of a boy who rejected me, but he had the nerve to arrive with another girl…! She's not around though, so I'll be making my move soon…!"

"Devious and slightly underhanded," Holle observed. "…I approve!"

Angelina returned to the ground and blinked at Holle. "So, do you have a guy you're hoping to dance with tonight?"

Holle bit her lip as she flicked her eyes at the door.

"Um, he's supposed to be coming…" the goddess explained. "Just…arriving with a different group than me, I guess."

. . .

"Heh, back in Hero High, eh Ninty? Giving you any nostalgia?"

Ninty refused to acknowledge Darcy's quip as the group herded inside, with Ryker parking the Ryker Cycle behind a group of bushes. The majority of them were all set just to go strolling into the school to cause havoc, but Steelo stopped them and instantly ducked them all behind a corridor. Making sure they were in a decent blind spot from the cameras, he huddled them up and started sputtering out instructions.

"All right, as we know, the entrance to the basement is through the Janitor's Closet, but getting there undetected is key," Steelo explained. "First off, we need to get rid of that weird yellow clam at the entrance to the gym- he has too much of a vantage point for us to take the risk."

He gave a glance at Ninty, who only returned a single curt nod.

"Once he's out of the way, Darcy's going to lead Ryker and Penelope to the Janitor's Closet, taking the least exposed path possible. Once Penelope slips in, she'll erase the camera data of the last few minutes before deactivating them completely, then hack into Tails' system and gain access to the entrance to the basement."

"What if Tails or anyone happens to be in there?" questioned Ryker with his arms folded. Steelo gestured to the gym.

"After we get rid of the bodyguard, I'll head in the gym and scope out who's there. If the coast is clear, I'll send Aron your way," he elaborated. "Then as Ryker analyzes the Harmony Vault's lock, I'll have Penelope see if she can assess the Master Charm's location. I know not even Tails knows where it is, but I absolutely don't believe he wouldn't have some way to keep track of it. It's too important."

"And whadda we do after that?" Ninty asked skeptically. Steelo shrugged.

"This is just the first step, Ninty. As I said before, we can't be hasty. We must seize our opportunities, but if we capitalize on them too much, we leave little room for error. We must be cautious and flexible, and if we even just manage to analyze the Harmony Vault's lock, I'll be satisfied. We have plenty of time before we have to make any drastic moves."

"You…really thought this out," remarked Penelope.

"You could say that, though I've been making changes to my plans all day. Twisting methods, making small adjustments…but I still have the same basic idea. Of course, you can back out at any time…and you'll have my blessing."

Ryker, Penelope, and Darcy all exchanged a look, while Ninty furrowed his brow and looked deeply contemplative. Steelo glanced at Ninty again before clapping his hands once and pointing down the hall.

"All right then. If we're all on board, let's get started. Time wasn't given to us to waste. Ninty, if you'll do the honors…?"

Ninty was remarkably silent, but slowly turned in Moe's direction, where the clam was just standing around doing his job. The psychic's eyes started to glow, initiating PK Neutralize, and at the same time Moe let out a dramatic wail as his energy was drained almost instantly, putting up little resistance. With Moe felled, Steelo pointed forward, Darcy taking point and leading Ryker and Penelope away. Ninty stared blankly at Moe before Steelo nudged him and got him to stand up.

"…and so it begins," Steelo announced, strolling into the entrance of the gym. He turned to Ninty and smiled brightly. "…are you ready to truly show people what you wanted to before?"

Ninty had nodded, but it was a relatively empty gesture.


	12. Bittersweet Symphonies

**So, since both Chapter 10 and 11 were more or less fillers, I've decided that you guys get an extra chapter this week...!**

* * *

><p>Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us<p>

Part 12: Bittersweet Symphonies

The dance had officially gotten started; the adults having cleared out from the dance floor and letting the kids take over. Dash was unexpectedly hanging out with Marcus and Skippy, while Peri suddenly found herself included in a group dance with Pink, Tenn, and Lulu. Coby and Penji were conversing at the snack table like old friends –which they were, but Coby wasn't aware- and Zeborah was swept up in the grand scheme of things by posing with Connor and Junior in Adeleine's photo booth, until they were eventually photo bombed by Zelda.

"Ha ha, just messing with the new people," Zelda cackled, though she waved it off and turned to Zeborah. "I do like your outfit though. Looks a lot more comfortable than mine."

"I-I…thanks," Zeborah gasped, stunned to hear one of her arch rivals say something like that. Zeborah wasn't exactly wearing a dress as it went against her culture, instead wearing a variant of her usual outfit, just with more shades of magenta, extra silk draping off from her belt, and her long red hair tied back into a tight braid. She contrasted well with Connor, who had black dress pants, red dress jacket, black vest, and a red and black striped tie to match. Junior kept noticing Zeborah fawning over Connor and tried his hardest not to gag.

Steelo, meanwhile, was merging into the crowd ridiculously well, being polite to everyone and getting tidbits of information out of everyone he spoke with. Charisma and charm were turned up to the max, and seeing as he was catching the attention of the likes of Angelina, Lulu, and even Elysia, it was making Mal insanely jealous. Tamsyn lightly whapped his shoulder and told him that only girls he should be looking out for were the ones they were assigned to find. However, Steelo was actually just tracking who from Hero High was in the gym, and after seeing that all but Peach and Luigi were present, he sent out his Aron to give the signal to Ryker.

"All right, let's take a quick break from the fast lane and slow it down a bit, because I know you're all just _dying_ for a slow song," Sonic snickered from the DJ booth. "Not my taste, but eh."

The crowd naturally cleared out when the slow song started playing, everyone's eyes shifting around nervously to see who would dare to be the first to step onto the dance first and break the ice. Eventually Steelo had emerged out of the crowd with Peri, much to Peri's shock and chagrin, and soon enough other pairs followed. One of those pairs happened to be Pink and Luke, the former nearly dragging the latter.

"Oh, this is a good song! I love this one!" Pink exclaimed, contently draping her arms over Luke's shoulders. Luke proceeded to grimace as he felt Purple's stare harrowing into him from afar. Pink appeared pretty thrilled to be twirling around, but Luke knew what had to be done.

"Pink, may I…ask you a question?"

Pink blinked, as if snapping out of some self-induced trance. "Oh! Ah…yes?"

"You know…you don't have to continue to be here with me just to be nice," Luke stated quietly, only to blush with embarrassment. "N-not that I didn't appreciate the thought, but I-"

"Luke, I know there was a misunderstanding with Purple, but it's not fair just to abandon you because of it-"

"But I'm perfectly okay with it!" Luke exclaimed, and Pink's eyes widened. "If you wanted to go with Purple, then you shouldn't let me stand in the way either, especially if I don't mind."

Pink faltered slightly, evident in her expression. "You…really don't mind…?"

Luke shook his head. "A true gentleman always listens to a lady's truest desires, you know."

Pink beamed slightly, then pulled Luke into a hug. Luke requested that she stop after a few seconds because he could sense Purple becoming ridiculously agitated again. Pink eventually backed off slightly, happiness visible in her eyes.

"Thank you, Luke…you're almost TOO nice, you know?"

"Yes," Luke deadpanned, and Pink giggled. She then seemed to ponder something as she gazed back at the boy in blue.

"Okay, I'll talk to Purple…but um, Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Can we finish this dance first?" she inquired softly. "Just so you can say you danced at least once tonight with the person you came with…"

"I'll be okay." Luke smiled and nodded, fully getting into the dance for the first time. "Just being surrounded by my friends satisfies me just enough."

"I feel the same way," Pink agreed, only for Luke to smirk slightly.

"Oh, but not even something slightly a little more for Purple-?"

"Eee, _Luke_!" Pink laughed, giving him a light shove as her cheeks tinted pink. Luke just shrugged and continued to dance with her, deciding to make the most of it. Purple, meanwhile, fumed quietly on the sidelines and unintentionally ended up to an equally uninterested Ninty. Seeing Ninty as a potential target to redirect his misplaced frustration, Purple raised an eyebrow as he faced the psychic.

"Nice outfit, dude."

Ninty scowled deeply and shook a fist at the punk. "Yeah, well, as least I didn't dig it out of a clearance bin at a second hand store…!"

"Ooh, cold comeback," Purple grunted, flinching. "I respect that though. You're quick on the defense. I like that."

"Yeaaaaah," Ninty groaned, really not wanting to talk to Purple. "Shouldn't you be dancing with a girl or something?"

"She's…currently in the arms of another," murmured Purple. "Shouldn't you?"

Ninty gave him a blank look. "I'm twelve. I'm not really at that stage yet."

"I suppose not," remarked Purple, studying Ninty a little closer. "You know, you look a little familiar…"

Ninty instantly blanched and looked away. "Ah…nope. Nuh-uh. Don't know you."

"I didn't say I_ knew_ you, jus that you looked familiar-"

"Holy cow, I am _thirsty_!" Ninty suddenly yelped, springing to his feet. "I hear this place has great juice!"

Purple blinked and gestured across the room. "Uh, the punch bowl is over there if you-"

"_Thanks,"_ Ninty gasped hastily, making his getaway toward the punch bowl. On his way there, he darted past the pair of Steelo and Peri, paying them little mind as Peri continued to wallow in her confusion.

"…what are you doing?" she had deadpanned right off the bat, suddenly finding herself being dipped. "Not trying to make Pink jealous _already_?"

"Nah, she's just busy; I'd hate to butt in and appear _rude_," Steelo smirked. "Besides, I wanted to tell you that you happen to clean up well."

"Your fake flattery amuses me not," murmured Peri, though he HAD been the first to compliment her snowflake decorated party dress with matching hair pins, aside from Penji of course.

"In any case, I'm just killing a little time," Steelo explained. "I would've invited you to be a part of my plans, but I know you'd change your mind in a heartbeat."

"Well of course," huffed Peri, being spun in place. "You're totally out of it!"

"Am I?" Steelo asked, finishing twirling Peri before pulling her in close. "…or am I the only sane man?"

. . .

Also on the dance floor was a silently gushing Zeborah and relatively reserved Connor, who was guiding Zeborah in such a gentlemanly way that only Luke could rival. Zeborah was happy enough having one of his hands in hers and his other on her back, but Connor's eyes kept darting around nervously, like he was inadvertently waiting for…something.

"I really am glad you came with me tonight," Zeborah suddenly spoke up, snapping Connor out of his brief trance. "I know I asked all suddenly and while you were feeling bad, but-"

"Hey," Connor stated, lifting her chin to look her in her eyes. "You were right. Maybe this was what I needed after all. I'm just sorry I wasted perfectly good time pushing you away…"

"And I already forgave you," Zeborah smiled, putting his hand back in place. "Just for tonight, let's push all those bad thoughts away and just have fun, okay? Then once this is all over, we can devote all our energy to getting you that cure, okay?"

"Yes, indeed…" Connor murmured, face suddenly contorting afterward. He turned away from Zeborah so she wouldn't see it, desperate to hide that fact that he was in an incredible amount of pain right then. Yes, he was having fun, and yes, Penji had given him some medicine earlier, but none of that was doing him any good at the moment. His head was pounding, he actually felt pretty dizzy, and those thoughts were coming back-!

"Are… you okay?" she suddenly asked, pulling Connor back into reality. Immediately his shoulders sank.

"Well, what do you think?"

"…if something's not right, you don't have to strain yourself," Zeborah stated confidently, but Connor quickly shook his head.

"No, no, I _can_ get through this…" Connor assured, waving his hand. "I just…I'll go grab something to drink."

With an impressive spin, Connor instantly started marching toward the punch bowl, where Junior was apparently telling some hilarious story to Junichi and a very frustrated Holle. Out of the corner of the Koopa Prince's eye he caught Connor taking several swigs of punch. Sighing, he told Junichi to shoo before turning to Connor.

"Okay, _what_-?"

"I can't do it," Connor droned instantly, almost trembling with the words.

"Can't do what, Brainiac?" scoffed Holle, looking at her staff with a bored expression. Connor's response ended up being a wince and a hand flying to his head, with Holle appearing a touch more shocked as Junior pushed himself back to his feet.

"Clearly it looks like he can barely stand," murmured Junior. "Dude, go home! Clearly you're not well!"

"N-no…" Connor mumbled, losing coherency. "I promised Zeborah…"

"And after a month of ignoring all of us this is suddenly important why…?" Holle asked.

"Yeah, you don't even return her affections!" Junior exclaimed snootily, receiving a look from Holle. "…what? Somehow I'M her go-to gossip! …but DO you like her?"

"I...I don't know anymore...," Connor claimed, squeezing his eyes tight. "But the point is, she does care…and I really don't want to hurt her or anyone against my will…physically or emotionally."

"Sounds a bit like a Catch 22," hummed Holle. "However, this could be your last chance to do something you want to-"

"He's freaking dying over here or something!" exclaimed Junior. "Push him back onto the dance floor, why don't you?"

"He's _not_ dying," scoffed Holle, and Connor blanched upon realizing that they didn't know the entire story behind his disease. "Besides, he never looked better out there until_ Zeborah _started yapping it up."

"You two are not helping," Connor muttered, rubbing his temples. "I just need to tough it out. I'm okay…I'm okay…"

He stayed like that for a few moments, Junior and Holle exchanging looks amongst themselves before Connor seemed to finally get a grip. He stood straight, took a deep breath, and grabbed a drink for Zeborah before making his way back out into the danger zone. Holle just shook her head while Junior raised an eyebrow.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Junior murmured, but Holle merely shrugged.

"There's no way we can talk him out of it, though. Apparently he's very committed to keeping his promise to Zeborah."

"Yeah, he might be on the verge of psychotic evil, but you can't fault him for loyalty."

"Yeaaaaah," grunted Holle, wondering where the person who promised HER was currently at…

. . .

After receiving the signal through Aron, Darcy had wasted no time in working down the hall, scoping out the trajectory and vantage points of all the cameras and using them to her advantage. While she, Penelope, and Ryker had to take come unconventional routes, they couldn't just simply destroy the cameras, because Steelo insisted on leaving as little of a trace as possible. Darcy was hardly deterred though, even in her royal purple evening gown and other various accessories.

"Ugh…are we almost there yet?" complained Penelope, who hadn't enjoyed squeezing under a bench and climbing over a set of lockers in her already uncomfortable plain orange dress. Darcy just crept forward and glanced cautiously around the corner before making some intricate signals with her hand. "…darn it, wolf! Use your words!"

"Yes- it's just down the hall," grunted Darcy. "However…there's a girl."

"What?" snarled Ryker. "Steelo gave us the okay…!"

"Maybe she doesn't go to Hero High," Darcy suggested. "However…she looks a little lost."

"I don't care what she looks like, how are we going to get her out of the way without her spotting us?" demanded Penelope. "I got things I gotta do!"

"Well she's going to hear us if you keeping running off your fat jaw!" hissed Darcy. "Just wait a second…"

Little did the ragtag team know, they were witnessing Rina searching desperately for Lilia. Her search had taken her to the Janitor's Closet, but the door was locked, and there was nothing else of relative interest in the hall. However, since she didn't know the layout of the school very well…she was very lost.

"Ooh, Lilia…you better not be in trouble somewhat, you klutz…" Rina grumbled, getting goose bumps just from being in the relatively dark hall alone. "You weren't at the dance…so where ARE you?!"

At the same time, she was also keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. Damien was a big presence at the school, and dragging HIM off on this mini adventure too would raise questions…surely no one would miss HER.

"Ridiculous," she grunted, lighting her hand aflame so she could see better. While she was now able to progress forward, she also had a better view of the floor…where she located something wedged between a trash can and the wall. Raising an eyebrow, she trotted over and plucked it out.

"…oh, what the heck? THERE'S her stupid hat," Rina complained, crunching the cap in her hand. "I've no idea how she managed to get it stuck there yet miss it..."

Now even more determined to find her best friend, Rina took off the down the hall, leaving behind scorch marks, and leaving the way clear for Darcy, Ryker, and Penelope to infiltrate. Darcy knew there was a camera aimed directly at Tails' door, but they only needed a few seconds' time to get in…plus, Penelope promised to erase any footage that might've had them on it.

In that few seconds time, Ryker had rolled forward, picked the lock at an alarmingly quick pace, pushed the door open, and he and Darcy sprang in. The slowest part of the entire move was getting Penelope through the door.

"…could you be any slower?" complained Darcy, as Penelope set up her laptop on the table that had been flipped earlier.

"Sorry that I don't happen to be part freaking ninja or something!" Penelope chided back, starting to type. "Now, everyone shut up. I've got the hardest part of the job."

"I bet you do, button pushing monkey," Darcy grunted.

"Who are you calling a monkey,_ animal_?"

"Getting a little too racist in here, girls-"

"What do YOU care, Ryker!?"

"I don't-"

"Stop!" hissed Penelope, elevating her keyboard. "…I'm about to start."

Darcy and Ryker fell into silence as Penelope cracked her knuckles, smirking and almost looking amused at the challenge before her. She easily cracked into Tails' database with the same password from before, accessing his data with relative ease. Of course, the truly important stuff still had extra encryption, but that wouldn't be too much a problem.

"…the finest hacking equipment money can buy," she said gleefully, taking out a small black chip and plugging into her computer. "Stand back, you're about to watch REAL magic happen…!"

Darcy and Ryker just blinked dumbly as the small black chip seemed to blink once, then all of a sudden, Tails' own computer blipped on. Penelope broke out into a dangerous sneer as she first hacked into the camera systems. Just outside the door's window, Darcy could see the camera's red light begin to blink. Meanwhile, on Tails' computer, the video feed from the cameras was being displayed, notably being rewound up to the point of when they had entered. Penelope then did something really crazy and spliced in some feed from an earlier day at the exact same time, making it look like it had been live feed.

"That'll cover anything else we do until midnight," Penelope explained. "But we should be in and out by then, not to mention the end of the dance."

"Smart, admittedly," murmured Ryker. Penelope gave him a brief look before continuing on.

"Now that _that's_ done, the true fun begins…I'll try to see if I can unlock the elevator so that you can get in and out, Ryker."

Ryker gave a curt nod while Darcy tapped her foot impatiently. Now, according to what she'd found, part of Tails 'defensive systems were identification based, but if her bug would just kick in and automate the data-

"YAY!" Penelope screamed with genuine happiness, startling the other two in the room. "Hahaha, I almost didn't think I could do it…!"

"I just can't believe you managed to work around something of Tails'," commented Ryker. Penelope snapped her fingers.

"THAT'S the trick- I _didn't_ work around it. I used its own code against it! All I had to do was manipulate past information entered and make it think that it was being entered again! It's a lot easier than just simply overriding the system. And better yet, it looks like I haven't even touched it at all!"

Darcy just blinked. "…you spend a lot of time alone, don't you?"

"Shut up. I can have my pride _wherever_ it's given to me."

"Feh," grumbled Ryker, stepping into the elevator just as the wall whooshed open and revealed its location. "Let's just get this done so I can get back to my own agenda…"

He gave the girls a blank stare as the door to the elevator closed him off from them, and the sound of descent and gravity turning off could be heard. Darcy stared at the elevator curiously as Penelope began digging through Tails' deeper files.

"And now, let's see if we can't find that Master Charm…there's gotta be some extra trick to finding its location…"

. . .

The descent toward the basement was rather awkward, even though Ryker was undeniably by himself. He hadn't been expecting the zero gravity, but it was certainly nothing to be bothered with. The trip down was quick and painless, and when he stepped out, he hadn't been assailed by the mass amount of security that he'd been expecting.

"…"

He stalked down the hall, undeterred by the darkness and silence. The walk had been longer than the elevator ride, but Ryker didn't care- it gave him more time to continue the plot out his future act of revenge…

When he reached the vault, Ryker's sharp orange eyes quickly swept over the door to analyze it. There were five pads for input, presumably one for each member of Team Mario, but below that…there was a small hole, almost like a lock for a key. It was relatively small compared to the input pads, but it was the only other thing that Ryker could estimate to be how the Master Charm was to be input, despite its…very bizarre shape. Still, not questioning it, Ryker took out the small camera Steelo had provided for him, snapped a quick shot, and hurriedly returned on his way.

. . .

Darcy personally was almost disappointed at the ease of what they had done. Granted, Penelope hadn't managed to find the charm's location, but she found out that Tails did have a backup tracking system. Whenever the Master Charm got too close to the vault, it would send a signal to the Miles Electric…

Meaning that it couldn't be brought into Hero High without him knowing.

"Hmm, not entirely what we wanted, but an interesting tidbit nonetheless," Penelope remarked, sliding her laptop back into her bag along with her hacking chip. "I wonder how Steelo plans to work around that little snag."

"No kidding- as soon as you set foot in the school with the thing, evasion would be next to difficult," remarked Ryker.

"Ugh, well, where's the fun if we're not challenged, hah?" Darcy asked. "We're already curb stomping these people without them even knowing! I say we snag the charm and go burst in the front door regardless, just to see the look on their faces!"

"…I sincerely doubt Steelo would go for such a plan," scoffed Penelope. "Tactics like that are beneath him."

"That WOULD be a typical villain move though…" murmured Ryker.

Darcy seemed to stew quietly in this thought as they approached the door, with Moe still unconscious after Ninty's attack on him. Ryker took the trash can and flipped it on top of the yellow clam, just in case anyone asked questions. Penelope shook her head.

"So tactful."

"You're one to talk."

Penelope just scoffed and instantly made a beeline for food table. As Darcy groaned, Ryker stepped in intently looking for Steelo, ready for him to hold up his own end of the deal they'd struck. However, before he was able to locate the overly sophisticated teen, Holle suddenly rammed into his side, and he wasn't sure if it was some sort of hug, tackle, or an attack.

"For Hades' sake, where have YOU been?!" she fumed, her hair threatening to break out of its style and stand out on end. "I know you're the creepy mysterious anti-social type, but sheesh! At least tell me if something comes up…"

Holle folded her arms and glowered at Ryker, impatiently waiting for an answer, until her eyes suddenly lit up.

"…are you wearing a suit?"

Ryker glanced down. "I suppose…"

Holle flashed a toothy grin. "Hot. Now come on- Sonic's started up another slow song!"

That last thing Ryker honestly wanted to do was dance at the moment, but seeing as Holle was ravenously dedicated to doing so and Steelo wasn't anywhere in sight…he kinda had little choice. Next thing he knew, Holle was swinging him across the dance floor, ridiculously happy.

Ryker, unfortunately, didn't exactly empathize.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Starlos, Alph, and Skippy had approached a very confused and still perplexed Purple, who was currently watching Marcus fail to get a dance with Lulu. Purple was still flustered at the unexpected confrontation with a disguised Ninty, but now he was just stewing as Pink had yet to approach him.

"Dude, you should just go get her yourself," remarked Starlos. "Be a man, grow a spine!"

"Because I haven't heard that one before…" murmured Purple, yet eventually clenching his fist and standing confidently. "...but you're right. I need to stop moping! My hesitance is what got me into this mess! I need to make this happen!"

"Yes, go get her, Purple!" Skippy cheered.

"Guess we didn't have to play matchmaker after all!" laughed Alph. Just as Purple was about to make his move, Luke suddenly approached, looking content. He glanced up at Purple and beamed at him.

"Hey, she's waiting, and more importantly, she's your friend. You've got nothing to worry about at all," the boy gentleman announced. "And it doesn't matter if you're scared…as long as your courageous enough to take the first step."

Hearing that from Luke instilled confidence into Purple, and thus he began sashaying through the crowd toward where Pink was standing. His small posse for the moment gathered behind him, providing backup and support as he made his march. Eventually he emerged from the menageries of people and locked eyes with Pink, standing alone in all her splendor for the moment. She beamed brightly, and waved him over, so Purple finally, finally,_ finally_ took the plunge and took his first step.

…and someone had beat him to the punch.

Suddenly, Pink was whisked around in a perfect swing by some mysterious silver-suited stranger, looking several times more sophisticated and suave than Purple could ever hope to be. Pink had an utter look of surprise at first, but after a few cool words, she suddenly melted into the dance.

"…why do I have the feeling that I already really hate that guy?" growled Purple as his fists balled at his sides.

"Maybe because he totally intercepted your girl!" Starlos cried with exceedingly little tact. "Dang, today is NOT your day. Sniped _completely_. Twice!"

"You should go cut in dramatically and make a scene!" Skippy exclaimed.

Luke shook his head. "That's an absolutely horrible idea-"

"Especially since that guy DEFINITELY has moves," remarked Alph. "Can you beat that, Purple?"

Purple gave Alph a long disgruntled look, eventually making the poor astronaut uncomfortable and forcing him to glance away. Luke just stepped next to Purple, arms folded as he looked on sadly.

"…well, can't say I didn't try."

"Should've moved faster," grumbled Starlos.

"Oh, why THANK you Starlos! You've_ just_ reminded me you've got an appointment with a window as soon as possible."

"Hey, HEY! Isn't this what you go to therapy for?!"

Skippy stepped between Purple and Starlos, barely holding the punk at bay.

"Oh, calm down! It's not like he'll be dancing with her ALL night," he explained. "Just stay close to her until she's free again-"

"Then keep her allured by your endless charm and grace, and you'll be good to go!" chirped Alph as Starlos tried his best not to snicker sarcastically.

Well, Purple wasn't the only one fuming at a lost opportunity with Pink- Mal was partially steaming as well, but more at Steelo's constant success than losing out on Pink herself. Tamsyn kept nagging at him to focus on the mission, and they both knew Lilia would HAVE to turn up sooner or later- she'd never left the building.

But that time wasn't now and Mal _really_ wanted to dance.

Thus, while Tamsyn was trying to hit up a lead from Kawasaki (who was only aware of the power outage by the cafeteria), Mal slipped back onto the dance floor, sliding his way on through. Angelina was currently trying to work Damien onto the floor while Starlos was preoccupied, Penelope was dominating the food table and fighting over food with Coby as Penji tried to break them up, and Peri had wound up at the karaoke booth, standing next to Elysia as Dash lent his voice to the microphone, with Ninty and Darcy desperately trying to drown out the sound. Tenn was currently watching Pink dance with the fourth guy who had approached her tonight –she counted Purple and Mal's failed attempts, yet when Mal took a step towards her, she pointed him away.

"…she's a prickly one," Mal remarked, eventually ending up at the karaoke booth.

"Oh, Tenn?" Elysia spoke up, turning and blinking at him. "She's really not normally like that. She's just very out of her element at the moment, but I'm very proud of her for coming regardless."

"I see…she doesn't look like she's having much fun though."

Elysia shrugged. "Ah, I think it's just going to take her a little longer to warm up to things, you know? Even I'm not entirely in the groove yet."

Mal then broke out into a controlled grin, holding out his hand. "…then would you allow me to see if I can fix that?"

Elysia thought it over, but eventually shrugged and accepted his offer. "Okay. Someone's gotta throw you a bone tonight, huh?"

Mal silently mouthed the words "thank you" before pulling her out into the crowd. Peri stepped out and put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, I was available too!"

It was then that Marcus swept in with a rose between his teeth, raising his eyebrows at her. Peri groaned and smacked her forehead with both hands.

Meanwhile, Ryker and Holle were still dancing- relatively slowly and not quite as elegant as Holle would've liked, but there was no way she was going to complain. Seeing as Ryker was failing to find Steelo still, he eventually sighed and glanced down at Holle, who was humming under her breath to the tune of the song.

"…why do you like me so much?" he found himself mumbling.

"…hngh?" was Holle's intelligible response, returning back to attention. "…did you say something?"

"…why do you like me so much?"

Holle huffed and glanced away. "_That_ is the _hardest _question you can possibly ask anyone-"

"Not really," Ryker murmured. "It's me. I'm spiteful and resentful, and the only emotion I ever feel is anger. I don't understand what you possibly expect to get out of that."

A brief look of uncertainly and sadness dashed across Holle, but she shook it off and just shrugged.

"…as much as I hate the fact that I may never get to know the real you, I have to admit you have your perks," she susurrated. "Your apathy…while disturbing, it's not all bad."

Ryker was generally confused. "What do you mean?"

"Aside from your whole revenge thing, you don't…really care about anything, and while that means you don't care for me as much as I do you, it lets you like me more than other people."

Ryker shook his head. "I don't understand-"

Holle pulled away and shook her head, gritting her teeth. "Of course you don't- I don't know the real you...but you don't even really know _me_! But if you did, you wouldn't care, and for _me_…that's a _good_ thing."

Her hair was dying to break out of its carefully controlled hairstyle, but Holle held it in place as she continued.

"Ryker…you don't even know what I really look like," she stammered quietly, before smiling deliriously. "Heh, how shallow am I? Gaining unbridled power as Queen of the Underworld…and I used a chunk of it just to look presentable. Hades before me used all that power to create his own army and wage war to build a _bigger _army…and here I just cared what people thought of me."

"Maybe, but wasn't Hades totally mad with power or something?" Ryker questioned. "You…at least kept it small. You're doing your job better than he ever did."

"Oh my goodness, a compliment-!"

"It was an observed fact."

Holle briefly stuck out her tongue before turning away again. "…well, anyway, my point is…your story is a sad one, but I don't like you just because I want to help you. I want to help you because, oddly enough, you're my friend. But I like you because you have something that I need…and that's to see me as I am and not judge me for it."

Ryker actually seemed to be thinking up an appropriate response to this, but before he could come up with anything concrete, a flash of green flickered into his sight. Holle stared at him curiously, not entirely expecting a response but wondering what had caught his attention. Eventually both lines of sight had fallen unto Elysia, who was twirling contently about with Mal. Holle's eyes flickered toward Ryker, who was now angrily grinding his teeth and tightening his fists.

"Hey, Ryke-"

Ryker ignored her, glancing to the other side of the dance floor. Pink was still in Steelo's arms (though Purple looked like he was about to punch his lights out at any second) and suddenly Ryker found himself thundering in Steelo's direction. Holle had reached out to snag him, but she'd been too slow, and suddenly didn't know what to do, for Ryker had vanished in the sea of people.

"…have I told you how absolutely ravishing you look tonight?" Steelo had asked as he beamed comfortably at Pink. "It's certainly not hard to pick you out of a crowd."

Pink smiled nervously and sweatdropped. "I didn't know I warranted so much attention…but ah, thanks for the compliment."

Simultaneously, she was trying to look over her dance partner's shoulder in an attempt to scope out Purple. Steelo, attentive as ever, made perfectly sure that Purple was out of her sight at all times.

"You deserve only the best you know," Steelo insisted, spinning her around and leaning her back against him. "Someone of your brand of magnificence shouldn't settle for less."

"…perhaps," Pink mumbled, shaking her head. "But what I deserve may not be what I want…maybe I already have something that's just right for me."

Steelo frowned but kept dancing. "Such a simple person, aren't you…and I mean that in the best way possible. You would trade extravagance for the beauty in the ordinary."

"I think you're looking a bit too into it, but it's a nice thought nonetheless." Pink laughed nervously and shrugged. "…yet as fun as this is, there's really someone I should be talking to right now."

"But an opportunity like this may never come around again," Steelo told her, shaking his head and he twirled her to face him once more. "Don't you want it to last?"

"Yeeaaaah…but while I'm here, I'm missing out on other things. Opportunity _cost_, you know?"

Steelo didn't appear the least bit amused as he pulled Pink in close, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"I suppose even the finest of moments can't last forever…but better to end when they should than go on longer than necessary-"

Just as Pink was about to question what he meant, _Red _was suddenly there, holding Steelo and Pink apart with a measuring stick.

"Up up up…! _Way_ too close," he scoffed, with Pink rolling her eyes.

"Please…!"

"Sorry, kiddo. Can't have you catching cooties."

Pink groaned loudly as Steelo merely shrugged.

"Your wishes are acknowledged. I will stay a respectable distance."

Red nodded in approval and leaned in toward Pink. "He's good."

"Go _away_, Red…!"

Red eventually shrugged and waltzed away, twirling the measuring stick between his fingers. As Pink was still reeling from the embarrassment, Steelo noticed Ryker utterly glaring at him from the corner of his eyes, and also Elysia on the dance floor. He really didn't want to do this unnecessary thing, and especially leave Pink for it, but eventually he adjusted his cap and mumbled.

"I promised…" he sighed, whirled back to Pink and grabbing her hand. "My apologies, but I must part. I suppose this means you'll be off with others for the rest of the night…but just know…"

He placed a soft kiss to the back of her hand before tilting his hat.

"…that I truly do regret not being able to save you from the designated fate to befall this world."

Pink was left slightly mystified as Steelo suddenly vanished into the sea of people, staring curiously at her hand. Steelo, meanwhile, elbowed his way through the likes of Marcus, Peri, Lulu, Zelda, and a confused looking Pit just as the slow song ended and faster one began to play in its place. Mal had stepped away from Elysia at this point –discreetly and desperately thanking her for the dance- before hurrying back to Tamsyn before he was gone for too long. Steelo eventually reached Ryker and pulled him off to the side.

"…did you get the information I requested?" Steelo demanded, needing to know that above all else. Ryker gruffly grunted and nodded.

"Duh. It was painstaking easy, though," Ryker murmured, passing the pictures he took to Steelo. "…it appears to be ridiculously complex looking…"

"An interesting shape to be sure," Steelo nodded, pocketing the pictures and folding his arms. "A deal's a deal though- I'm not entirely supporting what _you _are planning, but it doesn't interfere with me, so whatever…I'll go get Elysia."

Ryker's voice rumbled under his breath as he nodded a single time, and Steelo twirled off to go put the heinous plot into action. Ninty had noticed him from across the room, curious as to what he was doing now. He watched as Steelo approached Elysia and hit her with his diabetes-inducing charm that Ninty knew couldn't have been entirely genuine –although Steelo wasn't much of a liar- and eventually guided her to the punch bowl.

"Well that's curious," Ninty mumbled, simply watching out of interest. Dancing certainly wasn't his thing, and since his part of the plan was complete, he really didn't have any reason to hang around. He should've gone back home before his parents noticed-

Wait, why was Elysia alone…?

And more importantly, why was Ryker suddenly thundering up to her…?

Elysia had been generously offered a glass of punch and a Lava Cookie from Steelo, and she was enjoying the snack rather feverishly when she noticed the white haired boy marching up to her in the suit and dark purple tie. She blinked curiously at him, thinking nothing of it at first…until he suddenly took a right toward the wall where the generator was and promptly punched a gaping and sparking hole into it.

The entire gym spontaneously grew dark- the colorful lights dulled instantly and even the music came to an abrupt halt.

"H-hey…a power outage?" Sonic had called into the dark.

"Ow! I just ran into something!" shouted Dash.

"What's happening?!" screamed Penji, who was gripping Coby fretfully in the dark.

"I dunno man, but it's weirding me out…!"

"It's probably just a freak thing-"

"I can't see! I can't- Watch where you're putting your hands!"

"What I wouldn't give for night vison-!"

"Shut up, Marcus!"

Needless to say, the whole room was thrown into an utter state of uncontrolled chaos, with Elysia trying to shuffle away from the snack table and get to someone familiar.

"Hey!" she called into the dark, waving frantically though it did her no good. "Someone bust the gener-"

Her shouts gave away her position, suddenly finding a cold and metal hand clamping against her mouth and her arms suddenly pinned behind her back. Against her will, she was suddenly dragged along the floor, but once she started struggling and resisting, she felt herself being lifted up and with an even lesser chance of escape. Whoever was manhandling her had ridiculous strength-

Once she was dragged out into the light of the hall, she was finally able to look up and see her captor- it was the same white haired boy who had busted the generator, but he was no longer in a classy tie- he had donned purple battle armor, and Elysia felt her heart skip a beat.

The boy who had been glaring at her after the Power Ball match…!

"Hello, Elysia," Ryker scowled, suddenly drawing his machete and placing it towards her neck as he continued to drag her. "You and I…have matters of life and death to discuss."

Poor Elysia, who had no idea what was happening or for what reason could only cry out desperately, but Ryker's hand muffled out her screams.


	13. The Perks of Being a Thunder Flower

Gaming's Next Generation: Secrets Divide Us

Part 13: The Perks of Being a Thunder Flower

The school dance had fallen into mass disarray within an instant, with students panicking and the likes of Adeleine, Meta Knight, Link, Fox, and Mario demanding order. Tamsyn and Mal had abandoned their mission for the moment to run around and make sure everyone was okay, while everyone else was trying not to freak out and utterly failing.

"Everyone remain calm!" shouted Amy and Malon. "There is nothing to be worried about- the power's just out!"

"Mom…MOM!" wailed Junichi.

"Don't worry guys! The food is okay!" announced Kirby happily, reprimanded by Queen Zelda for being completely inappropriate afterwards.

"Gads, everyone get a grip- there's just something wrong with the generator!" exclaimed Samus, having located an emergency flashlight and found the problem. Red eventually stepped next to her and immediately grimaced.

"There's not just something _wrong_- there's a gaping hole in it for Palkia's sake!"

"Thanks for the astute observation-"

"Well you weren't being specific!"

"Pika!"

As Red gave Pikachu a long look, Tails suddenly appeared, nudging his way through the amassing crowd and kneeling in front of the hole. He lit up one of his hands via using his Enerbeam technology while pulling a screwdriver off his tool belt and poking around inside.

"…yikes, it's like someone stabbed into it with their fist!" he exclaimed.

"…how's that possible?" remarked Alph, just as the majority of students started to gather around the only source of light in the room like moths to a flame. Tails sighed, shaking his head.

"I wish I knew. Several important components were damaged…in order to save the dance, I'd either need more of these expensive parts or a whole new generator."

Several kids groaned, until one of them stepped forward, although sounding a bit pained.

"Perhaps I can pull something together…" offered Connor, Zeborah letting him go as he knelt down to Tails. Tails blinked curiously, but let him try regardless, shuffling out of the way and keeping his glowing hand just above the hole to supply some light. Connor swapped his mask out for his goggles and tightened his gloves before finagling with the insides, attempting to mend broken wires and warped metal pieces to the best of his ability. It seemed like an eternity passed before he finally crawled out, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"…hmm, with that, I managed to rework some of the electrical circuits. It can't use nearly as much power now, but it should be enough to get the lights and music back if we reroute its power source."

"There goes the disco ball," pouted Marcus. "I was really looking forward to that!"

"Wait, reroute the power source…?" questioned Palutena. "So another blast from Pikachu wouldn't work?"

Connor shook his head. "Unfortunately I don't think so. It would take something bigger to kick start it."

"But we cut off the gym from the school's generator so we could save energy by alternatively using this one," explained Ness. "Where are we supposed to get another one?"

"Well, maybe if enough juice _was_ put into this one, it could self-contain itself just like before," Dash pointed out. "The problem is, if Pikachu simply hurled a Thunderbolt down on it, it could blow the breakers!"

Adeleine snapped her fingers excitedly. "Ooh, maybe Tails or someone could zap it with an Enerbeam-!"

"Then the electric charge would be too _weak_, and nothing would even happen," huffed Shadow, folding his arms. Adeleine gave him a look.

"_Why_ are you always raining on my parade…?

Shadow merely shrugged indifferently as Luke looked very deep in thought.

"…we'd need something right in the middle, then…"

As everyone scrambled about trying to come up with an alternate idea, something suddenly sparked in the dark, catching nearly everyone's attention. It was small at first, like it was hesitant to even be there, but it grew bigger the closer it approached the generator. Samus tried shining her flashlight onto the newcomer, but whoever it was clearly didn't want to be seen…until she put her hands on said generator and gave it the shock of a lifetime.

Everyone stepped back from the shocking generator, and while it was a spectacle in and of itself to see it charging up with the green electric current, it was unanimously far more intriguing to watch the girl who was the source of it all. She was illuminated by her own abilities, wild auburn hair reflecting the light. Everyone could see the blue jumper she wore over her green shirt, along with the purple pants underneath accompanied by shiny black shoes. Her blue eyes almost looked sad as she returned power to the generator, and soon enough, the lights and music returned to the gym- not nearly as extravagant as before, but enough to keep the party going. A few let out whoops at the returned power, but most were just curiously looking on at the girl who had come to their rescue.

"You were in trouble…so I helped…" she trailed, almost trembling like he she was scared. Krystal stepped forward and tried to reach out for her, but she instinctively pulled away.

"There's no need to be scared," Krystal insisted, but backing off for the time being. "We just wanted to thank you-"

"I'm not supposeta be here…" the girl mumbled again as she furiously shook her head. "You can't tell…don't tell…DON'T TELL!"

She suddenly felt everyone's eyes on her as she grabbed her head, attempting to shrink away from the unwanted attention. She saw Luke remarking to Starlos about how she was the one they saw in the hall earlier, she saw Damien studying her with scrutinizing eyes, she saw an ungrateful Darcy remarking to Ninty about how weird she was acting…

But her heart leapt into her throat when she locked eyes with Mario.

"No…NONONONONONO-"

"LILIA!"

Mario bolted for the gym door as Lilia found herself screaming and flying backward towards the wall, a few pinpointed knifes wedging her clothes to the wall. A few demanded to know where Mario was going while others were freaked out at what was going on with Lilia, but Tamsyn and Mal suddenly sprang into action, the latter twirling one of his kunai between his fingers.

"Ha! Got you now, kiddo!" Tamsyn announced, taking out her Stun Baton and readying it just in case.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Penji cried frantically. "She just saved us!"

"Some show of gratitude," snorted Junior.

"This is a matter that pertains to none of you," Mal explained, sliding his sunglasses down over his eyes. "We're just here to complete our mission."

"Which includes the capture of that girl!" Tamsyn announced, pointing dramatically.

"Why do you want her so badly?!" Damien of all people inquired, stepping forward and demanding answers. "What could she possibly do that warrants such a threat?"

"It's not her that's the true threat," was all Mal remarked, and Damien felt his stomach do a complete. Lilia, meanwhile, struggled against Mal's knives, nearly going ballistic trying to get herself free.

"What the heck is happening?!" exclaimed Knuckles. "There was a threat in the school…?"

"Apparently, and our good old principal seems to know a little something about it," Link huffed, suddenly very suspicious.

"The girl we saw on the cameras earlier!" Ethan cried, turning to Falco. "Is she the real threat that boy was talking about?"

"And evidently the office faculty took our concerns as something to be reckoned with," remarked Shadow with his eyes closed. "Interesting. Wonder why they chose to keep it under wraps…"

"That's exactly what_ I_ want to know…" grumbled Tails, hanging back and glancing at the Miles Electric once again.

And once again, it showed that the Master Charm was in the building.

Unbeknownst to him, Penelope had been standing behind him, and happened to get a good look at his screen. Knowing what she did, and putting two and two together, she instantly started searching the crowd for Steelo.

"Well regardless!" Lulu suddenly cut through the building silence, clenching her hands. "She's just a little girl! There is no need to be so ruthless!"

"Oh, trust us," Tamsyn deadpanned. "We're not any less ruthless than she-"

There was a sudden rip, followed by a ball of electricity coming Tamsyn's way. The young adult ducked promptly under the attack, turning to see Lilia having freed one of her arms, though having torn her sleeve in the process. She sneered at Tamsyn and Mal, hurriedly yanking the knives out of the wall. Mal ran at her and tried to stop her, but he was met with a boot to the stomach. Once Lilia freed herself, she punched her fists together and coated her arms in purple crystal once again, staring down the duo that opposed her.

"I told y'before!" she barked, unbearably angry. "It's you who is in the wrong! And if yer gonna stand in the way, then I will fight ya!"

Lilia sprang up and punched the ground, Tamsyn and Mal bracing themselves as a huge ring of crystal speared out of the floor, separating the trio from the rest of the people. Sonic momentarily had a panic attack about his gym floor being ruined until he was promptly reminded of the more important things that were happening. Tamsyn raised her Stun Baton while Mal took a fighting stance, with Lilia marching slowly towards them.

"I went easy on y'last time, but if y'wanna come at me again…" She broke out into a crooked grin and cracked her knuckles. "…then let's dance."

. . .

Elysia was still a teary mess when Ryker arrived at the most unusual destination point- the kitchen. He removed his hand off her mouth, now that they were too far away for anyone to hear, but he kept his blade trained against her to prevent an escape.

"What do you WANT with me?!" Elysia sobbed, scared out of her wits. Ryker was stoic as ever, and it was driving Elysia absolutely mad at how he was so indifferent to whatever was happening. "Are you even listening to me?! I don't even know you-!"

"That's funny." Ryker's stone cone voice cut through, and Elysia was stunned into silence. "_I_ know you. We met thirteen years ago. And now, fate has brought you back to me to rectify what you did."

"Thirteen?" Elysia blinked, trying to calculate the time in her head. "…I was only two and a half! How am I supposed to remember a meeting from that long ago?!"

"You don't need to," Ryker huffed, slamming her against the wall with one hand and driving his blade against her with the other. "Because I remember it plenty clearly…"

"Remember what?!" Elysia demanded, scrambling in his grip once more. Ryker narrowed his eyes and suddenly barred his jagged teeth.

"The fact that YOU single handedly killed my parents!"

He saw the information soak into her, her face going from terrified at the unknown to an unabashed horror that strictly didn't want to believe what was being accused. Elysia went pale as she slowly shook her head.

"N-no, I don't-"

"You can't deny it! Your mother had already confirmed my suspicions all those years ago when I caught you two red handed," Ryker scowled, desperately resisting to urge to behead her right then and there. "She thought you were an uncontrollable freak of nature, so she went to my innocent parents to hopefully purge you of your glaring_ flaw_…"

"You're lying! You're lying!"

She felt the fine prick of the razor against her neck and she tried her hardest not to gulp.

"But your idiot mother didn't give my parents all the details, so while they were just trying to help, you repaid their kindness by mercilessly killing them and sucking the life right out of them with your mutant fangs!"

Elysia suddenly went cold and whispered, "…how do _you_ know about my fangs…?"

"Because maybe _I'm telling the truth_."

Elysia tried her hardest to find some shred of evidence to hopefully refute Ryker's aggressive yet blunt argument, but the more she mulled it over, the more it made terrifying sense. How else would this horrific stranger know about her abilities unless he had seen them himself? Why else would he be so angry at her for such a specific reason? And maybe…that…such an event….was why…her mother secretly _feared _her for all those years…

Ryker saw her eyes go empty as she spoke up, suddenly devoid of any emotion.

"What do you want with me?"

"…the closure I so deserve," Ryker grunted, deepening his glare. "You killed my parents quickly and nearly instantaneously…so at least I know they didn't suffer for very long…"

His sharp orange eyes locked and contrasted with her blue ones, almost paralyzing.

"As much as I want you dead right here and now, you don't deserve the grace of a painless demise. What you need is something_ slow_…and _agonizing_…and will make you _regret_ ever being born…!"

Elysia noticed his eyes flit towards the _freezer_, and inwardly began to panic when the smallest and darkest of grins crept onto her captor's face.

"Metroids don't last very long in the cold_, now do they_?"

Ryker then felt shaking in his grasp, so he looked up at Elysia once more to find her vibrating uncontrollably. It was almost like she was having a seizure, especially with the way her eyes had rolled back into her head –creepy, even for Ryker's tastes- until her Metroid fangs sprouted and bit down on Ryker's blade, ripping it right out of his battle suit, gnawing it, and spitting it out onto the floor. Ryker was increasingly disturbed, but hardly flinched when Elysia suddenly battled out of his grasp, lunged on him, and sank her fangs into shoulder- purely out of necessity for survival, but still frightening all the same. She desperately tried to pull the life energy from him…but found that she couldn't.

"Ha ha…heh heh…AHAHAHAHA! _Surprise_!"

Elysia scrambled back from Ryker's sudden guffaw, the only sign that she'd bitten him being the fang marks gouged into his armor. Ryker came off as crazy with reprieve, laughing in a demonically disturbing way as he stepped toward Elysia.

"The final gift from my parents…" he droned deliriously, running his fingers through his chemically-turned white hair. "…when that shelf full of all their experiments fell on me in the wake of _your_ destruction, it turned out I was blessed by the one thing they hoped to achieve in their lives…_immunity from a Metroid bite_."

Elysia's clear eyes widened with instantaneous horror.

"Alas, I am the only one to benefit from the work they wanted to spread to all, thanks to you…but I will be sure what they wanted to achieve won't be in vain! With you out of the picture, no one can be hurt like that again!"

Ryker went in to punch Elysia, but like a feral animal she jumped out of the way on all fours, drawing into a ready stance with her fangs bared. However, she hadn't been expecting Ryker to kick his leg backwards, knocking her in the face with the side of his heel. She went sliding into the kitchen counter, stunned for the moment, when Ryker then scooped her up in one hand and instantly made tracks for the freezer. He threw open the door with a distinct slam that probably could've been heard throughout the halls. With a hefty toss, he hurled Elysia into the freezer, sprawling her out on the floor. Realizing what was happening, Elysia tried to jump back at Ryker, but Ryker had slammed the door on her just in time for her to haphazardly bang against it.

"Hmph, some hero you turned out to be," Ryker scoffed, kicking the handle to the door harshly enough so that it was bent and mangled out of shape, and no matter how hard Elysia throttled it, it wasn't going to budge. She hissed, snarled, and tried to bite at the door afterwards, but the cold started to take effect almost immediately. It certainly didn't help that she was currently in an evening gown, without her Zero Suit or her sigil to activate her Power Suit. She began to get lightheaded on the spot, slowly sliding down the length of the door as she lost the strength to hold herself up.

Ryker just glanced at her through the window one more time before slinking way, having been robbed of the ability to feel guilty many, many years ago.

. . .

The swift and quick confrontation in the kitchen was a stark contrast to the commotion in the gym. Lucas had eventually located the unconscious Moe under the trash can at some point, while the Alliance plus Krystal and Starly went running after Mario at the request of Link, but returned several minutes later having lost his trail. At the same time, everyone was still sealed off from the battle between Lilia, Tamsyn, and Mal, but that didn't stop anyone from trying. Amy tried fruitlessly to hammer her way in while Ness helped out with his baseball bat, yet not even Samus' missiles could penetrate the purple crystal. Knuckles tried everything- punching, burrowing, and gliding over, which the latter was quickly followed by Tails, Meta Knight, and Malon, but whenever any of them got close Lilia would send a blast of lightning their way.

"Stay out of the WAY!" Lilia would cry, and eventually everyone decided getting electrocuted wasn't the best idea.

"This is the part where we go get Mario to help, except he's part of the problem!" howled Kirby, stabbing at the crystal with his Final Cutter.

The bulk of the students -hero, villain, and neutral alike- had absolutely no idea what was happening, but out of them all Steelo didn't seem the least bit interested in any of it. He was far away from the pandemonium that was occurring, instead hanging back and closely inspecting the pictures that Ryker had supplied him. Aron eventually returned during his musings, Steelo praising him for a job well done before returning to pondering.

"Hey!"

Steelo glanced up to see Penelope stomping over to him, and Steelo smiled.

"Hi, Penny! Not caring much for Hero High's squabbles either, I see."

"No, that's not why I'm here…" Penelope scoffed, plucking a brownie off the snack table before continuing. "Remember how you asked me to attempt to find the location of the Master Charm despite the difficulty?"

"I assume this means good news?"

"Not entirely," Penelope huffed. "While I didn't find the location, I did learn that when it gets close to the vault, it sends off a signal to Tails' weird doohickey…meaning that as long as it's in the school, it's going to end up on his radar."

Steelo drummed his fingers together. "Hmm, that is an interesting protocol…regardless of who has the charm, they wouldn't be able to get close to the vault without him knowing. Fascinating."

"Yeaaaah, but there's more…" Penelope coughed, nervously scuffing her shoes on the floor. "Ah…the thing you're looking for is, um…in the building _right now_."

Steelo's face instantly went blank. Penelope flinched instinctively.

"What?" Steelo asked flatly. "…you should've led with_ that_, Penelope!"

"Sorry! I just thought that first part was more important…"

The boy in silver assumed a thinking position, closing his eyes and debating his next move based on this new information. Eventually he snapped his fingers and Aron stood to attention. Penelope just looked on as Steelo opened his eyes and held Ryker's photos out to his Pokémon.

"…all right. Above all else, I need to find this, and I can't cover as much ground as you can fast enough," Steelo explained, petting his Aron. "I want you to memorize this symbol, and if you find something like it, I want you to report back to me and show me precisely where it is, okay?"

Aron nodded, locked the image of the eight-pointed star in his head, and ran off once again.

. . .

Rina was currently scouring the halls faster than ever before, zigzagging around and leaving scorch marks everywhere, but unable to find who she was looking for.

"Darn it all, Lilia! I swear you better not be in trouble!" Rina howled, fanning herself angrily. She wasn't entirely sure where her frantic scrambling had landed her, but she still jumped when she heard a loud thud suddenly echo through the halls. She winced at the sound, peeking around her fan like there was a monster lurking about.

"Lilia?! Was that you?"

There was no response, but there was suddenly someone dashing along the shadows of the hall, moving like they were on a mission. Rina narrowed her eyes and lit up her hand again, giving chase to the fleeting figure.

"I bet they're headed for the vault…!"

She ran after them immediately, not going too fast to give away her position, but close enough to stay on their trail. She had come too close to be in vain now…and Rina WOULD prove to that smug Princess Peach that she'd been right all along.

Little did she know that while she was following someone, she was being followed herself.

. . .

Out of the sight of the simple people who just wanted to hold a dance, Lilia was fending off the combined talent of Tamsyn and Mal. Unfortunately, with her setup, she couldn't get rid of one and just focus on the other like before, so she was forced to deflect both of them at the same time.

"I guess y'just didn't have enough the first time," Lilia murmured, knowing perfectly well that she herself wouldn't have enough stamina to endure this match.

"We don't have to do this," Tamsyn stated, really wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict. "Just stand down, come quietly, and it'll all end…"

"It will all end if I DO stop!" Lilia cried, crashing the side of her hand against Tamsyn's Stun Baton. Tamsyn tried twirling it to and fro in an attempt to land a hit on Lilia without her syphoning power, but Lilia kept conjuring up crystals to deflect any attacks. Despite her extremely defensive battle strategy, especially opposed to the high offense from earlier, Tamsyn could tell that Lilia knew she was outmatched, and that she wouldn't hold out for much longer.

Mal felt really awkward trying to punch and kick at a little girl, but felt significantly less bad about it when she attempted to punch a hole through his head and shock him afterward. The teen frowned, really wishing she would come quietly but finding himself swinging his leg over her anyway…and missing.

"I won't lose to you again!" Mal exclaimed, perching a knife between his fingers and aiming to pin her down again. Lilia blinked as the knife soared through the air, flinching as she raised her armored hand and managed to catch it. She wasted no time staring at it, lighting it in electricity, and hurling it back. Mal ducked, but Tamsyn had leapt in front of him before hand, twirling her Stun Baton and deflecting the knife. She then spun forward and tried breaking Lilia's defenses, matching her punch for punch and not letting up for anything.

"You got lucky once, kid," hummed Tamsyn, blocking Lilia's counterstrikes. "But I've had years more experience…"

"So what?!" Lilia snapped. "Y'might be experienced, but I'm more powerful than both of ya…!"

"And it's tiring you out, isn't it?" Mal called from behind Tamsyn, hurling another knife. Lilia was forced to dart away from Tamsyn in order to avoid, but she was so fed up at the moment that she no longer cared about holding back. The crystal armor around her arms started to glow green, and Tamsyn and Mal braced themselves for anything that would happen next.

"I'll show ya who's tired!" Lilia screamed, punching her fists together before rapidly pounding at the ground. The ground completely started to quake, so much that it could even be felt outside the protecting crystal casing Lilia had put them all in.

"I promise, it isn't me-!" exclaimed Knuckles, as everyone was being tossed about.

"We can SEE that," Falco huffed in return.

"Is it…that GIRL causing that?!" yelped Amy fretfully.

Link grimaced and shook his head. "I think it's only getting started…"

Tamsyn and Mal were unable to stay steady, tumbling at the mercy of Lilia's quakes. Eventually they came to a brief end, but something even worse was on the horizon when Lilia sprang several feet high into the air, fist raised and looking vicious.

"THUNDER FLOWER!"

Tamsyn and Mal could only exchange a glance as Lilia's fist made contact with the ground, and something amazing yet utterly devastating occurred. A flower shape suddenly started to glow on the floor, just before purple crystals suddenly sprouted up and flew out in every direction. Mal's protective vest managed to shield himself and Tamsyn, but the floor nearly erupted once again when a huge electric blast surged out, sweeping up not just the duo, but thrashing around the crystal barrier and completely shattering it into a million smithereens. Many of the adults caught what was occurring and instantly went to shield their charges, while the likes of Damien, Tenn, and Junichi threw up various degrees of protection. Purple wormed his way over to Pink and shielded her with no questions asked, but the Villain Prep students were a little less lucky.

"Cryogonal, Ice Shard!"

Peri stepped in front of Penji, Dash, and a sulking Darcy, her Cryogonal flying out of its periwinkle Pokéball and fending off the crystal shards with icicles of its own. Steelo was less amused, calling upon his Steelix for a little iron protection, while Ninty simply shielded himself and him alone.

"Auuuugh!" came from Zeborah, unable to move in time as a flurry of electric charged crystals were prepared to rain down on her. Junior had actually moved to deflect with his shell, but he was much too slow on foot to reach Zeborah, yet he realized he had nothing to worry about when a flash of red darted past him. Before Zeborah could register anything, she was suddenly tackled by Connor, whose back took the brunt of the attack. But when the worst of it was thought to be over, another electric shockwave was emitted as the finisher, with nearly everyone either ducking, shielding, or protecting someone else.

"Naurgh-!" hissed Connor, just as he and Zeborah crashed to the floor. Zeborah was petrified at the close call, but once she shook it off, she noticed that Connor was incredibly still, and scrambled out of his grip.

"Connor? Connor!"

She was struck with horror at his state- parts of his clothes had been shredded by the crystals, but he'd also been caught up in the aftermath electric shock, and he was now sparking slightly. Zeborah panicked and lightly shook him, fearing the worst, but his blue eyes cracked open slightly, followed by managing a light smile to confirm that he was okay before falling limp once again. Zeborah's lip trembled as she threw herself over Connor, with Junior scrambling over and cringing instantly. Peri, Penji, and Dash were on his heels, with Darcy looking on curiously.

"Hey, did he get hurt…?!"

That had been Malon, scrambling over after surveying the damage. As the adults had taken most of the damage, no one was too horrendously injured, so now she was checking over any lingering students. Zeborah recognized the voice as one of her supposed enemies, one of many people her father loathed for whatever reason…but in that moment, with tears in her eyes, she forgot about all of that and simply pleaded.

"Please help him…please…"

Malon stared at her for the longest time, with the other Villain Prep students looking just as begging. Seeing a group of kids that distraught over their friend…regardless of where they were from or who they were…instantly Malon calmed down, knelt next to Connor, and pulled out her flute.

"Of course. I'll see what I can do…"

Amongst the groaning adults and very confused kids, Mal and Tamsyn were coughing and sputtering, amazed that they were still alive, but they certainly hadn't gotten off easy. Mal's suit was in tatters, and if the scrapes Tamsyn received weren't enough…her hair had been fried by the electricity!

"Oog…hey, are you all right, Tam?" Mal murmured, turning his cousin around to see her face. Tamsyn eventually nodded sporting her new afro and weakly slugged him in the shoulder.

"Y-Yeah, thanks to you …though I totally could've handled myself, you know."

Mal smiled slightly, before turning back to face the cause of all the destruction. Lilia stood in the middle of the now very ruined gym floor, smack dab in the center of a dark and ashen crater shaped like a lilac flower. She staggered to stand up, eyes looking dazed, confused, and on the verge of tears. Lilia scoured the entire gym, seeing just how much trouble she had caused. Her gaze eventually rolled to the two cousins, and seeing as her most powerful attack hadn't devastated them…simply gave up right then and there.

"I'm sorry…" she murmured, turning on the waterworks. "I…didn't wanna take it this far…but Rina…"

Lilia fell on one knee, struggling to keep herself up.

"Rina…forgive me…and don't…"

She choke on her words as glanced at Mal and Tamsyn one last time.

"…don't tell my father…"

She finally lost the last of her strength and collapsed on the floor, and instantly Mal swept himself up and slapped some cuffs on her, although he didn't feel as victorious about it as he'd originally hoped. Hanging onto her, he glanced at Tamsyn, who was just as conflicted as he was.

Something was very, very wrong.

. . .

Thought it was way after hours at Villain Prep, the lights were still on in a few select hallways, and if one were to follow their trail, it would lead straight to the meeting room, where a few of the villains were in pajamas, but all of them were looking extremely agitated.

"I haven't heard from mah boy in hours!" King Dedede exclaimed, pounding the table. "It just isn't like him…!"

"Connor's not one to be fashionably late either…and it's gotten far beyond that point," remarked Eggman. "Frankly, I must admit that I'm worried."

"I swear, my daughter better not be out doing _things_ with that horrendous nephew of yours-!" Ganondorf howled, until Giovanni waved his way into the conversation.

"Uh, hey, why am I here again? It's not like my son's not exactly missing-"

"Oh, stuff your hat in your mouth," complained Medusa. "I don't want to be here either, but as I'm constantly stuck baby-sitting that bat-brat and she's gone too…"

Even Ridley was ridiculously worked up. "How dare that ungrateful punk take off without my say so…! He will be paying _dearly_ when I get my hands on him!"

"But this can't be some coincidence; they must all be together!" Wolf announced, punching his fist into his palm. "My darling little Darcy is out there somewhere with your ragtag hooligans-!"

"And now we know where she gets her charm from," snarked Don Paolo in a janitorial suit, only to be whacked over the head. Bowser roared and got everyone's attention instantly, with him being the most furious.

"I don't want to be here either, but seeing as pretty much all of our kids are missing, this was the best place to form a plan of action!" he huffed. "Now…what we need is a lead to figure out where the twerps could've possibly ran off to."

Just like that morning, no one had been generating ideas that terribly quickly, and irritation at the inconvenience quickly turned to genuine concern for a few members of the group. Even Ganondorf eventually cooled down, though still scowling. Giovanni was about to pack up and leave when a small laugh echoed in the room, and everyone jumped when Dark Pit suddenly emerged out of the shadows.

"Ugh, when did you get here, you little creep?" grumbled Medusa furiously. Dark Pit merely shrugged.

"I happened to catch wind of the commotion, and I had a feeling that my…services would be needed."

Dedede frowned and drummed his hand on the table. "Oh yeah? Then what's yer damage?"

Dark Pit beamed sadistically and produced a suspicious-looking piece of paper, taunting it in the villain's faces.

"I just might have small little clue about where the kids might've vanished off to-"

"Then quit stalling, you rat with wings!" barked Ganondorf. "Out with it!"

"Psh, I don't think so!" Dark Pit scoffed. "What if it's in my best interest to keep this a secret…? If you really want me to help you lowlifes, I'm going to need a little…_incentive_."

"Oh my goodness," groaned Wolf as his head smacked against the table. Dark Pit was enjoying this way too much, but Bowser was sick of being in the building when he didn't need to be, so eventually he heaved a sigh and glowered at the black angel.

"All right, fine, whatever. What do you want?"

"Nothing big," Dark Pit teased, twirling the page between his fingers. "But when I tell you where the kids are…ah ha ha, it should be fun to see."


End file.
